Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts
by Corruptmonk
Summary: Post Second War: After Voldemort's defeat, Harry learns of a betrayal that made him change his view of the Wizarding World and his life. Determined to turn his life around, Harry stayed in Hogwarts for his 7th Year and learning more magic after graduation. He finally settled down in Washington to start a new adventure. Timeline: Post Hogwarts, New Moon. Warning: Male/Male pairing.
1. Discovery and Realization

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, though I hope J.K. Rowling wouldn't mind me making a Post-Hogwarts story using her characters**

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**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts  
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**Chapter 01: Discovery and Realization  
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**January 10, 1998, Saturday (Two days after the fall of Voldemort)**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

The final battle at Hogwarts was gruesome to the say the least. Half of the school lay in ruins while the other half required lots of work to be considered habitable. A lot of witches and wizards, students and adults, died that day.

Light and Dark wizards lay dying or dead in the battlefield but everything was all for naught.

In the end, the victory was laid in his hands after he finally gave the killing blow by separating Voldemort's head from his body by a vicious swipe of Gryffindor's sword.

Everything that happened after that was like a blur but Harry could still feel the intense ache in his heart when certain truths came to light.

The first revelation that left Harry in negative state was the betrayal of some of the Weasley family. It left a bitter taste to his mouth every time he considered the betrayal of two he considered as friend, confidante, and family.

After the battle, Harry wandered the halls of Hogwarts trying to get away from the crowd of reporters and well-wishers in the great hall. Under the protection of one of the Hallows, the Invisibility Cloak of Ignotus Peverell, he wandered the silent halls trying to think of a way to gain a sort of balance in his hectic life. It was either luck or a curse that made him walk to an abandoned wing which was left unscathed from the battle.

There he overheard a plot that concerned him, the ultimate betrayal that left Harry's heart in tatters.

Their plan was simple enough, Ron was supposed to remain as Harry's friend and push him slowly to look at Ginny in a new light. There, Ginny would swoop down and woo the last Potter into a relationship where he would be slowly fed potions to wither down his will. Once they got married and produced a Potter heir, they planned to let Harry die in an accident, whether by potion or spell, but not before having Harry creates a Will to transfer the control of the Potter Vault to Ginny until their son or daughter was of age.

Once that was done, Ron and Ginny would split the Potter Fortune between themselves without telling their family anything.

Shocked by the revelation of the planned betrayal of two people he considered as family, Harry immediately left and went to the Astronomy Tower to think.

The calm, yet cold ambience of the tower provided Harry with a moment of clarity which gave him a sense of direction in what to do with his life or how to handle the revelation.

The first thing that came to mind was the plot to take the Potter fortune. Harry thought that his Trust Vault in Gringotts was the only thing left to him by his parents. After a few minutes of pondering, he realized the significance of the vault.

A Trust Vault was usually given to a child to sustain them until they come of age. Would it only stand to reason that another vault exists…a vault that belonged to the Potter family as a whole?

He needed to get in touch with Gringotts regarding his account there but he needed to determine if he was still welcome in the establishment considering that he broke in which was considered a taboo for the goblin race.

The next thing that entered his thoughts was the passing statement of Ginny requiring the birth of a Potter heir.

An heir is necessary for families with a certain status in the world. For example, an heir to a king was the next in line for the throne. If Ginny needed a Potter heir, then it would only stand to reason that his family was something in the Wizarding World.

Again, this requires a trip to Gringotts or maybe he could rope his best friend, Hermione, into helping him do a little bit of research about his family.

Hermione's name made thoughts come to a screeching halt.

Was it possible that Hermione was in on the plot or maybe she was clueless of the whole thing? He remembered the time when they were camping out in the wilderness during their hunt for the Horcruxes. Ron left them but Hermione stayed with him. Harry's heart was healed somewhat at the thought that Hermione was still his friend but he needed to make sure. He didn't want to get stabbed in the back, which almost happened if luck didn't had a hand in helping him discover the plot against his life.

There was also the concern of his school.

He, Ron, and Hermione left Hogwarts during their Seventh Year to hunt for the Horcruxes. In other words, he needed to stay in Wizarding Britain and attend his last year of schooling if he wanted to make a name for himself in the world. Even if he was cleared to use magic without getting into trouble with the Ministry, he still lacked the magical know-how that his best friend, Hermione Granger, had in her arsenal.

Speaking of which, Harry looked into his 6 years of schooling in Hogwarts. Harry realized that his stint with the Dursley laid a subconscious command in his mind to lower down his capabilities. Before he was punished for being better than Dudley, he was considered a prodigy in school. But he toned it down until he became a mediocre student to avoid getting beaten by his Uncle Vernon.

Harry vowed that if he was allowed to return to Hogwarts for his final year of schooling then he would do everything in his power to cram 6 years worth of studying in a span of a year. His pride as a Potter demanded no less.

Finally having a direction for his life, Harry made his way back to Gryffindor Tower to rest. There were things he needed to do tomorrow and it required him to be at full health.

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**January 11, 1998 (Sunday)**

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Harry was on his way to the Headmistress' office to discuss with her his plans regarding his schooling for the year. He wanted to discuss it with Hermione first but she was currently on her way to Australia to reverse the memory charm that she placed her parents under to protect them from the war. He needed to talk to her as soon as possible but he needed to wait for two more weeks for her return.

Harry arrived at the gargoyle and was about to ask for entrance when it just jumped off from its position to reveal that staircase leading up to the office. Confused at the unnatural action of the protective statue, Harry shrugged and climbed the staircase. He reached the door and knocked.

"Come in." came the voice of the current Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, from the other side of the door.

Harry entered the room and greeted the stern, yet kind Transfiguration Professor.

"Good morning, professor. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?" asked Harry with a small bow.

Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor, now Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry gave Harry a curious look. The boy hadn't bowed to her before and the maturity the boy was showing her in terms of respect was something was new to her.

"What brings you here, Mr. Potter?" she asked curiously as she beckoned for Harry to take a seat.

Harry took the offered seat and looked at the Headmistress in the eye.

"Professor, I came here early to discuss the possibility of continuing my schooling here in Hogwarts for my Seventh year." said Harry in a business-like tone.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the seriousness in Harry's posture. Something was different in the young Potter – she was just wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

"Certainly, Mr. Potter, I daresay that you earned it. I know of your romp with Ms. Granger all over Britain with the mission given to you by Albus, which forced you to skip your final year here in school. Would it be safe to say that you arrived at this decision all on your own?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, professor. I was planning to ask Hermione when she arrives from her trip to Australia after she picks up her parents but I think I can make a decision for myself. She is, however, free to join me if she so wishes."

"I don't think that is necessary, Mr. Potter. Ms. Granger already informed me of her plans to finish her Seventh Year here in Hogwarts in the next school year. Minister Shacklebolt was kind enough to provide the manpower necessary to repair the school back to its former glory since it is a good idea to open the school to accept students ever since V..Vol…" she coughed a bit, gaining her bearings. "since Voldermort perished. The threat to our world no longer exists so it is best to make sure that we get back on our feet as soon as possible. Even if we are still in the process recuperating from the loss incurred during the war, having Hogwarts back can raise the morale of the people and serve as a beacon of hope for the future."

Harry nodded. The idea of opening the school for next year was good and would serve as a reminder for the witches and wizards of Magical Britain that recuperation was possible. Slow, yet, but possible.

"Thank you, professor. With your permission, I would like you to add my name to the rolls of Seventh year this coming September. Though might I ask a favor of you?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. The boy was certainly modest to say the least. Thanks to his efforts in getting rid of Voldemort, any favor from him will surely get a positive reply. Heck, the entirety of Wizarding Britain would be bowing down to him in worship if he so requires.

"What is it, Mr. Potter. If it is within my power to grant then its yours." said the Headmistress with a nod.

"Professor, I would like your permission to allow me to stay here in Hogwarts until the start of my Seventh Year. I don't want to be away from the school right now and I have always considered Hogwarts as my home. I will do anything to help to not be burden to the school. I would even offer my wand to aid in the repair." asked Harry with a slight pleading note to his voice.

McGongalls eyebrows rose in surprise. She didn't expect this request. Sure, the boy would do anything to get away from the Dursleys. Since he was already of age, he could easily go wherever he wishes with the Wizarding World's blessing. However, his request to stay in Hogwarts came as a surprise though a welcome one. The castle could definitely use an extra wand to help with the repairs. Considering how powerful the boy was, his wand would be of great use to speed up Hogwarts' recovery.

"You have my permission, Mr. Potter. I don't think I have the heart to deny your request considering your passion towards the school. Such is the case; I will allow you to stay here for the coming months until you finish your Seventh Year. Do you want to stay in the Gryffindor dorms or do you require a room of your own?" she asked the young Potter.

Harry was shocked at the offer of getting his own rooms. He didn't expect this but it was a welcome offer. He definitely needed a place where he could think and study without Ginny and Ron underfoot trying to get him to play to their tune.

"I would like that, professor. I don't think I want to stay in Gryffindor dorm for now and a room of my own would be welcome. Where will I be staying?" asked Harry eagerly.

McGonagall was about to say something but was interrupted by the portrait of Albus Dumbledore who was position directly behind her, looking at the two of them with a warm twinkle in his eyes.

"I have a suggestion, Minerva, if I may?" asked Albus from his portrait who was giving Harry a warm gaze.

"You're suggestion is very welcome, Albus. Do you have an idea where we are going to have Mr. Potter stay in the school?" asked McGonagall towards the portrait.

"I suggest that we give Mr. Potter access to Gryffindor's Quarters in the 6th floor." Albus replied with merry twinkle in his eyes and an amused smile on his lips.

"Are you sure, Albus?" asked Minerva. "Gryffindor's Quarters hadn't been used since Godric Gryffindor died and left the school's care to the Headmasters. I'm not even sure if it is still livable."

"The quarters is still intact, Minerva, though a tad dusty and requires thorough cleaning but I'm sure Harry is up to the task with some help from the elves." said Albus, smiling down at her.

"How do you know that, Albus?" Minerva asked curiously.

"There is a blank portrait there that all the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses can access at any time through their own portrait. Fortunately, I was there last week and saw that it was still in good condition so it is only right for Harry to use the place as his personal abode during his stay here in Hogwarts. I daresay he needed the privacy until all the hubbub has died down." explained the ex-Headmaster from his portrait.

Minerva gave Albus a long look before turning to a waiting Potter who was fidgeting on his seat.

"Alright, Mr. Potter. You will be staying in Gryffindor's quarters during your stay here in Hogwarts. Would it be safe to say that you also want to stay there during your Seventh year?" asked McGonagall with a raised eyebrow as if already expecting Harry to say yes.

Harry nodded vigorously, loving the accommodation granted to him. He didn't care that he had to clean the place up. It would be his home for the next year and half so cleaning it wouldn't be a problem.

"I understand. If you don't have anything else to do then I'll escort you to your new room in the castle. Please follow me." said McGonagall before standing up from her seat and beckoned for Harry to follow her out of the office. Harry was about to exit the door when the voice of Albus Dumbledore made its way to him.

"We shall talk when you get there, Harry. There are things I need to tell you in regards to your future."

"Sure, professor." said Harry with a nod before catching up with McGonagall who was already at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him.

Harry was facing a large statue of a lion who McGonagall said to be the entrance to Gryffindor's Quarters.

"Mr. Potter, this lion serves as the guardian of Gryffindor's Quarters. All I need to do now is to key you in to the wards and allowing you to set your own password to gain access to the chamber." explained McGonagall. "The enchantment on the statue is similar to the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office. Place your hand on the lion's head while I key you in."

Harry dutifully followed her instruction and placed his hand on the lion's head. McGonagall retrieved her wand from her robes and waved it over Harry's hand while mumbling an incantation. The statue glowed red for a moment before dying down.

"I have keyed you into the wards protecting Gryffindor's Quarters. You need to set the password to access the chamber. Keep your hand firmly on the lion's head and state the password and the word 'Activate'" instructed the Headmistresses as she stowed her wand back into the pocket of her robe.

Harry thought for a moment, trying to come up with a password. He ran through a couple of words in his mind until he found the perfect phrase to use.

"The Marauders rides again. Activate" stated Harry in a firm voice. The lion statue glowed blue this time, signifying that the password was accepted and recorded into the enchantment.

"Very good, Mr. Potter, the password is now recorded into the wards and is needed to gain access into the chamber. Since you are keyed to the wards, only you can change the password as you see fit." said McGonagall with an approving nod. "Is there anything else you need? I still have some business to take care of and I think you are old enough to inspect the quarters on your own."

"Yes, professor, thank you for your time." said Harry with a bow, thankful of the help given to him by the Headmistress.

McGonagall simply smiled at Harry before giving him a peck on the cheek which caused the poor boy to blush.

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. I don't think I could ever deny you anything. Enjoy your quarters and again, I thank you for getting rid of Voldemort once and for all. Till next time, Mr. Potter." said McGonagall before taking her leave and making her way back to the Headmistress' Office, leaving Harry alone to enter Gryffindor's Quarters for the first time in hundreds of years.

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**Gryffindor's Quarters**

Harry gave the password which caused the statue to jump to the side revealing a staircase similar to the ones going to the Headmaster's office. Excited at seeing his own quarters during his stay in Hogwarts, Harry immediately went up the stairs until he reached a large door made of dark wood. He turned the knob and saw a short open hallway leading to an open arch that Harry was sure marked the entrance of the fabled Founder's home.

Harry curiously walked over to the side and saw that Gryffindor's Quarters was like a separate tower connected to the castle through the hallway. Harry looked down and saw that it was more than a tower; it was a floating tower without any platform underneath.

Harry mused that it was either of sturdy construction or being held aloft defying the laws of physics by magic. The young Potter decided on the latter since this was the Magical World.

From his perch, he could see the Forbidden Forest in all its glory. Harry was eventually able to tear his eyes away from the beautiful scene and made his way to the arch to enter the chambers on the other side.

What he saw was a large circular room, like an archaic living room complete with furniture and a large fireplace. The design was similar to the ones in Gryffindor Tower that was his home for the past six years. He definitely liked what he saw.

Harry walked over to closed window on the western end of the room and opened it to reveal a portion of the Forbidden Forest. He had a clear view of Hagrid's Hut or what's left of it since the battle was practically on the half-giant's doorstep. Squinting a bit, Harry saw Hagrid in the process of repairing the walls of his wrecked home with fang sleeping beside him. Harry simply smiled at the sight.

He made his way back to the middle of the room and looked around. He saw a stairwell on the western corner of the room and decided to investigate.

The second floor was practically his bedroom. The style was similar to that of a loft. Tucked in one corner of the room was a large four-poster bed. A simple table and chair over by the closed window, a fireplace on the wall at the foot of the bed, and a large wardrobe. The door beside the wardrobe led to private bathroom similar to the Prefects Bathroom he used to discover the clue of the golden egg during the Triwizard Tournament. He definitely liked what he saw and could help but try it out.

Walking back to the bedroom, Harry strode over to the window and opened it. He saw the tower housing the Headmaster's Office quite clearly on the other side of the castle. From the looks of it, he was on the highest floor and being high up from the ground excited him a bit.

Deciding to start cleaning the place, Harry made his way back to the living room. He looked around before pulling out his repaired Holly and phoenix feather wand. With a wide swish and a flick, he banished all the dust in the room with a shout of _Scourgify_. He repeated the action a few more times until he was satisfied that the room was free of dust.

Considering that it was a bit cold because of the altitude, Harry lit up the fireplace with an _Incendio_. The roaring fire in the fireplace filled the place with much needed heat that immediately banished the cold. Harry was about to levitate some of the furniture to a new arrangement when a voice interrupted him.

"You might want to call an elf to you, Harry, since you might need to replace some of the furniture here. It is rather a bit too old and the place could use a little sprucing up."

Harry turned, wand at the ready to cast a _Stunner_, to where the voice came from and saw Albus Dumbledore in the portrait above the fireplace.

"Professor, you startled me." Harry said in relief when he realized who it was.

"Sorry, my boy. I just finished my discussion with Minerva and thought I drop by and check up on you. I take it that you found Gryffindor's Quarters to your liking?" asked the aged wizard.

Harry nodded with a smile.

"Yes, professor, I really like the place. I just didn't realize that such a place exists here in Hogwarts." exclaimed Harry as he sat himself on the ancient couch which was quite comfortable despite its age.

"Indeed. The Four Founders have their own chambers in Hogwarts. This is Godric's personal quarters while Helga and Rowena have their own somewhere in the castle. Slytherin's, however, is down in the Chamber of Secrets which you discovered during your Second Year." explained Albus.

"I see." said Harry with a nod. "It should only stand to reason that they have their own place in the school since I don't see them living in the same room. Anyway, professor, you have something you want to talk to me about?"

"Yes, Harry, but first thing I need you to do is to call Fawkes." asked the former Headmaster with a merry twinkle in his eyes behind his wire-framed glasses.

"Fawkes?" asked Harry in confusion. He was about to ask why when a burst of flame appeared in front of him revealing the absent phoenix that was the Headmaster's familiar.

Fawkes released a loud trill of happiness before flying down to Harry and settled on his lap. Harry absentmindedly started stroking the beautiful avian earning him a happy croon.

Harry looked up and saw the former Headmaster smiling at him.

"Professor…?" Harry was about to ask for an explanation when Albus beat him to it.

"Harry, before my demise, Fawkes here wanted to be bonded to you. He didn't want to be alone in the world without me so he requested that in the time that I leave this world for the 'next great adventure', I would get in touch with you to call him and explain his desire to be your bonded familiar."

"Oh…wait…he wants to be my what?" Harry half-shouted half-asked to the clearly amused former Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Fawkes wanted to be your familiar, Harry." Albus explained patiently to the dumbfounded boy. "He expressed a desire to do so ever since you bonded with the wand containing one of his feathers. There was a connection between you and him for years now. If you remember, he came to your aid while you encountered the basilisk down in the Chamber of Secrets. He has always there for you, Harry, but he was bonded to me at that time. Now that I am no longer alive and his bond to me shattered, he wanted to be with you as his next master."

Harry could only nod, no words forming in his lips at the revelation of Fawkes wanting to be his familiar. He knew all about it, of course. Familiars were magical creatures that had an emotional and magical bond with a witch or a wizard. Unfortunately for Harry, his dearly departed Hedwig didn't have enough magic in her to manifest such a connection with him. Despite the lack of bond between them, they loved each other and had a way to communicate that most would find weird.

He looked down on his lap to see a happy phoenix enjoying the scratches he was getting from him. Smiling, he looked up to face the Headmaster who was enjoying the sight in front of him.

"What do I need to do to bond with Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

"Before we get into that, Harry, please I want you to stop calling me 'professor' or 'headmaster'. I think you earned the right in calling me by name." said Albus with a smile.

Harry shook his head at the idea.

"It would be impolite, sir, I mean, you have always been my mentor, professor, and headmaster. I don't think I could ever call you other than that." explained Harry since he couldn't believe that such a powerful wizard looked at him as an equal, equal enough to call each other by name.

"I disagree, Harry, everything you went through have matured you in more ways than one. I think you earned the right to be treated as an adult, an adult who have grown under the tidings of war. Please humor this old man's request."

"Fine. Prof…uhh…Albus." Harry corrected himself. Old habits were hard to break after all. "How do I bond with Fawkes?"

"The bonding of a familiar to his witch or wizard is different according to species. In case of a phoenix, all you need to do is allow them to touch your magic and establish a connection. Unlike others that require blood to establish a connection, phoenixes are creatures of emotions so nothing physical is ever needed to establish the bond."

Harry nodded and looked down at Fawkes who was clearly looking at him. He felt a slight tug on his magic as he sensed Fawkes presence reaching out to him; he immediately relaxed and welcomed it.

Without warning, he was assaulted by a sudden rush of warmth and a feeling of exultation. His mind was bombarded by various images of flying in the clear blue sky, images of Albus chatting with Fawkes, and more. It was like Harry was seeing everything that Fawkes was sending him and the experience was breathtaking. Unknown to Harry, Fawkes was also receiving his memories. Both exchange was necessary to establish a familial bond that phoenixes strive in.

Harry didn't notice a golden glow encompassing both him and Fawkes as their emotional and magical bond formed. He didn't notice the time but it was an hour later that the glow dimmed down to nothing when the bond finally snapped into place.

Harry shook his head trying to clear away the headache that was forming. Fawkes felt his new master suffering from the barrage of memories immediately released a comforting trill that caused Harry's headache to disappear.

"Wow!" exclaimed Harry. "That was bloody intense."

Fawkes mimicked the sentiment with a triumphant trill that made Harry's heart soar. Harry looked down at the phoenix and scratched the avian's head.

"Thank you for choosing me, Fawkes. I promise to be a worthy master for you." said Harry with conviction. Fawkes simply trilled in acceptance before closing his eyes and going to sleep, the bonding tiring him out.

Since he was quite tired himself, Harry followed Fawkes' example and closed his eyes for a nap. He could finish cleaning Gryffindor's Quarters later.

It was around lunch time when Harry was woken up by his growling stomach. Incidentally, it also woke his new familiar as well much to its amusement. After a short talk with Albus, Harry called the former Headmaster's personal elf, Dippy, while in Hogwarts to serve them a bit of lunch. The aged wizard also suggested letting the elf retrieve Fawkes perch from his office, as well as finishing up the cleaning.

Of course, the elf took the command with a little extra by placing Fawkes perch in a pedestal in the living room beside the fireplace, as well as an extra perch in Harry's bedroom just in case the phoenix wanted to rest near his master.

After a hearty lunch, Fawkes left Harry in Gryffindor's Quarter to have a bit of fly. Harry gave him his blessing before accompanying Dippy to lend a hand in sprucing up the chamber.

Harry asked if there was a repository of furniture in Hogwarts that they could use to add some new items to the chamber. Dippy told him that there was a room in Hogwarts that contained some supplies needed just in a case a room needs to be improved. It held quite a collection of furniture ranging from simple tables to extravagant beds.

After listing down the items needed, Dippy commandeered a few elves from the kitchen to bring the requested items into the room.

First, the living room was given a bit of improvement through the addition of more modern sofas and couches. A heavy table similar to the ones in the Headmaster's office was placed near the window with a high-backed chair that would be a perfect place for Harry to study or pen letters. A bookshelf was also added in the room just in case Harry needed a place to store tomes for his study.

The bedroom was also given a makeover. Since he was the only one living there, he forgone the use of the four-poster bed and had it replaced by a simple king-sized platform bed. The pillows and blanket was replaced with newer ones. The wardrobe was left alone since the archaic design was to Harry's liking.

To spice the place up a bit, Harry requested some tapestry and paintings of landscapes to be placed in the living room and bedroom.

While the improvements were being done by the elves, Harry was in deep conversation with Albus regarding Gryffindor's Quarters.

For starters, the fireplace had an active floo connection that he could use to go anywhere within Hogwarts, except for the Headmaster's office. Since he was high-up in the castle, Harry could simply floo to the Great Hall to minimize travel time. The floo could also be used to exit the castle and return. After setting the address, which Harry decided to be Marauder's Den much to the former Headmaster's amusement, he asked Dippy to stock the vase on the mantle with some floo powder which the elf immediately complied.

The improvement of Gryffindor's Quarter was finished an hour before dinner. Not wanting to go down to the Great Hall to eat and wanting to avoid the crowd, as well as Ron and Ginny since they were still in the castle, Harry asked Dippy to bring him dinner. He ate silently while feeding a few morsels to Fawkes who was perched on his shoulder.

Tired from the day's events, Harry bid the Albus' portrait goodnight before heading off to bed.

* * *

**January 12, 1998 (Monday): 1:20PM**

Harry exited the office of Magical Travel in the Ministry of Magic with his Apparition License tucked safely in his wallet. He had plans in the future that required a lot of traveling so he needed to make sure that he had the proper documents to use apparition anytime he wished. He could have done this before the Horcrux hunting last year but didn't do so since the Ministry at that time was firmly under Voldemort's control. Harry wondered if Hermione was already given a license before deciding that his best friend might already have one considering that she was a stickler for rules.

While he was there, Harry also asked for a license to create Portkeys as well. It costs 50 galleons to be issued a license but he had enough money with him at the moment to pay the fee. His next stop was Gringotts.

Harry sent Fawkes to the goblins with a letter asking if he was allowed to the establishment to inquire about his financial status. It was an hour later that he got a reply via Gringotts owls coming from the leader of the goblin nation, High King Ragnok.

The letter stated that there was no harm done in regards to Harry's escape from Gringotts using one of their dragons. It was explained in the letter that the blame lay with Griphook, the goblin who double-crossed the trio during their trip to Gringotts to retrieve the Horcrux from the Lestrange vault.

In fact, Ragnok was thankful for liberating said Horcrux from one of their vaults stating that it was bad for business to host the fragment of the Dark Lord's soul in one of their vaults even if the client was of high standing in the financial circle of the Wizarding World.

It was two hours later that Harry exited Gringotts in a daze. He first met with High King Ragnok where he apologized profusely to the goblin king regarding their break-in. He was forgiven without any consequences much to his relief before being ushered to a conference room where a goblin teller showed him the ledger of the Potter family concerning the status of his account.

Harry realized during the meeting that the Potters were considered as one of the richest families in Wizarding Britain. Unfortunately, two of their properties were destroyed and all that was left was land – Potter Manor, the ancestral home of the Potters, was destroyed by Voldemort during the First War before he was born and Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow which was a wreck since it was left untouched after the second floor was blown to bits courtesy of the failed Killing Curse.

Thankfully, all the belongings were salvaged from both properties and were now residing inside the vault.

It was also during his discussion with the teller that Sirius' Will was personally read to him which named him the heir of the Black Family assets. Since he was given the title of Lord Black on top of being a Potter Lord, Harry was given the assets of Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black since she was already dead. Having the Potter, Black, and the Lestrange vault under his banner, Harry was told by the goblin that he was now considered the richest wizard in Britain.

Not to mention that he was Lord of two Ancient and Noble houses of Wizarding Britain, with their respective rings now adorning his fingers.

It took him a few minutes after the revelation to gather his wits. He asked for the ledger of the Black and Lestrange vaults so he could determine what lay inside them.

Fortunately for Harry, he was able to ask the teller if there was a way to get money out of the vaults without him having to come to the bank all the time.

He was issued a bottomless pouch keyed to the three vaults that would allow him to withdraw any amount of money. He just needed to put his hand in the pouch and state the amount he needed. He was also given a card which mimicked a credit card in the muggle world. The teller told him that Harry could use the card in the muggle world for transaction. It also allowed him to withdraw muggle currency from an ATM if he so needed.

Shrinking the three large ledgers and placing them in his pocket for safekeeping, Harry's next stop was to purchase a new trunk and a complete wardrobe since he didn't want to wear any more of Dudley's cast offs. It was an hour later that he exited Madam Malkins wearing new wizarding apparel with his new 7-compartment trunk containing his clothes and the three ledgers shrunk inside a pocket of his robes. He decided against buying new robes for school since it was possible that he might get a growth spurt before classes would begin.

He made his way to the Leaky Cauldron and used the floo there to go directly to Gryffindor's Quarters. He still wasn't in the mood to meet the Weasleys who were staying in the castle temporarily while the Burrow was being repaired.

* * *

**January 13, 1998 (Tuesday)**

Harry spent the day holed up in his new room in Hogwarts pouring over the three ledgers that itemized the contents of his vaults, as well as some in-depth facts regarding his financial status in the Wizarding World. He used his Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the Hogwarts Library to 'borrow' a book on Wizarding Heraldry and Laws to give him a general idea what being a lord entails in the magical world.

After getting the necessary reference from the library, Harry's first project was the Potter ledger. He found out that the Potters were millionaires and owned a sizable chunk of the various businesses in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. He discovered that he didn't need to work since his various investments were earning him a sizable income. The Potter Vault also housed an assortment of family heirlooms and books, the latter of which was itemized thoroughly and organized according to subjects. He decided that he would find time to visit the vault to get some books for his Seventh Year and maybe invite Hermione while doing so considering her passion for anything involving paperback.

Harry smiled at knowing that his parents weren't drunks as the Dursleys claimed. Heck, his family could even buy Grunnings without putting a dent on their assets. He wasn't really too big on money since he grew up in the Dursleys with practically nothing except for the clothes on his back but knowing that the Potters was a rich family made Harry heart soar.

Speaking of which, he needed to go to Privet Drive and retrieve the books and personal items he kept under the lose floorboard in his bedroom since he had no intentions of living there in the foreseeable future. Standing up from his chair, he stretched to get rid of the kinks he got from sitting down too long before calling for Fawkes who immediately flamed in and perched on his shoulder.

After explaining what he wanted, Fawkes immediately held out his tail feather for Harry to grab before flaming out of Hogwarts to Privet Drive. Fortunately, it was already nearing midnight so Harry was quite sure that the Dursleys were already asleep.

Harry appeared in his bedroom in Privet Drive. He looked around and noticed that nothing has changed and it was how he left it after Ron and Hermione picked him up for the Horcrux hunt. He went to the door and found out that it was locked from the outside. Harry chuckled at the Dursley's paranoia, locking the room to make sure that his 'freakish' influence wouldn't affect the family. Harry scoffed at the thought.

Removing the wand from his robe pocket, he levitated the bed to the corner before doing the same with the loose floorboard. He looked inside and smiled that his stash was safe and sound. Conjuring a sack, he levitated the items inside – mostly his school books, the photo album containing his and his parents' pictures given to him by Hagrid, a few wizarding snacks he stashed just in case he got hungry, and some odds and ends that he kept for emotional value.

Nodding at a job well done, he returned everything back to their original place and flamed out of the room with Fawkes, never to return again if he could help it.

* * *

**January 14, 1998 (Wednesday)**

Harry was annoyed. It was almost dinner time when he finished reading the Black and Lestrange ledgers. The numbers were too much for him to handle. Judging from the millions in both accounts, Harry guessed that the teller was correct in saying that he was practically the richest wizard in all of Britain. The only problem was he didn't know what to do with the money.

Sighing, he decided to think on that later since the money wasn't going anywhere though he did had an idle though of buying a house or two somewhere in the world. He didn't have any plans of living in Britain in the foreseeable future due to the memories he had with the place. He might settle down somewhere, maybe in America, and start a family if possible.

He was interrupted from his musings when he heard a knock on his door across the hallway. He stood up and answered it. He was surprised, however, when he found out that it was Professor McGonagall looking at him with a frown on her face.

"Good evening, professor. What can I do for you?" Harry asked politely before inviting her in.

"Good evening to you as well, Mr. Potter." McGonagall returned the greeting. "Maybe we should adjourn to the living room? There are some things I want to discuss with you so it would be best if we make ourselves comfortable. Have you had your dinner yet?"

"Not yet, professor, I was planning to ask an elf to deliver a plate here to me since I just finished studying the ledgers." replied Harry as they made their way to the living room. Harry sat down on the sofa followed by Professor McGonagall on the couch.

"That is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about." McGonagall began "I knew there was a reason why you chose to stay here in Hogwarts considering the accommodation available to you if you chose to ask for it. I didn't pry because it was personal but not seeing you ever since you were given this room is a bit disconcerting to me. If you would please explain why you seem to be avoiding people? I would love to hear it."

Harry sighed. He knew that this conversation was coming. He wanted to keep it a secret since he wanted to act on it on his own but he guessed that he could trust the Headmistress to keep this one for him until such time it was necessary to inform them.

He launched into an explanation on what he heard from Ron and Ginny during one of his night-time stroll around the castle. He told her of his plans to do better in his education and how he downplayed his abilities unconsciously due to his time with the Dursleys. Finally, he informed her of his plans to concentrate in learning magic to better himself.

As he explained his reasons and plans, Harry saw McGonagall go through different emotions so fast that it made his head spin. McGonagall face turned into a frown then into outrage upon hearing what the two youngest Weasleys were planning for Harry. That outrage grew worst when she heard that Harry was downplaying his abilities thanks to the Dursley's actions. Finally, she relaxed and gave Harry an encouraging smile with a proud look in her eyes when she heard the boy promise her that he would do his best in his studies and learning magic as a whole.

"I commend you on your determination to better yourself, Mr. Potter. I am looking forward to seeing what you are really capable off during your Seventh Year. What are you planning to do in regards to the Weasleys?" she asked Harry.

Harry shrugged.

"I don't really know, professor. The only thing I can do right now is to avoid them. I don't think I could ever stop myself from lashing out at them if I meet them face to face. Their betrayal was something that really hurt me. I'm not sure about the other Weasleys or Hermione for that matter since she and Ron are a bit close. So all I can do right now is to pretend that I didn't know of their plan until I can come up with something better. Though I dread about seeing them again in Seventh year." said Harry as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.

McGonagall grew thoughtful, pondering about the young man's problem regarding the two traitors until an idea hit her.

"I think we could make this work, Mr. Potter. But first, let me assure you that your Seventh Year won't be a problem. Molly and Arthur already informed me that Ms. Weasley won't be returning for her Seventh Year, she will be home-school since Molly doesn't want to be away from her kids after what happened to one of the twins. Mr. Weasley, however, does not desire to return to Hogwarts stating that he would be helping his brother in manning the joke shop so the only one left here is Ms. Granger."

"In regards to Ms. Granger, I'm sure that she wasn't in on the plot about you. From your words alone, you told me that Mr. and Ms. Weasley were planning to share the 'spoils' between the 'two' of them and not the 'three' of them so we can safely say that those two are the only ones after your legacy."

"I also arrived at the same conclusion, professor, but I wanted to talk to Hermione as soon as possible to confirm it. I know that she and Ron is in a relationship and I don't want to get in between them but she should really know what she is getting in for." said Harry after giving McGonagall a nod in regards to her assessment of his best friend.

McGonagall nodded at Harry's idea and added her two cents.

"She should be arriving from Australia next week. She did inform me that once her parents are settled down back in their home; she will be coming to Hogwarts to assist in the repairs. She consider this school her home the same way you do and it warms my heart to know that two of my favorite students are helping out in the restoration of Hogwarts." said McGonagall with a smile and a twitch of amusement on her lips when Harry blushed at being addressed as one of her favorite students.

"In regards to the Weasleys, they will be staying here in Hogwarts for two more days before leaving to Shell Cottage where William and his wife, Fleur, will be accommodating the family until the Burrow is fixed. I'll come up with a suitable excuse to make sure that they don't come looking for you and demand your time. I suggest that you make use of your free time to review your books to prepare yourself for the coming year. The library is open so feel free to peruse the resources within to further whatever research you need. I would assume that you're still serious in helping out in the repair of the school?"

Harry nodded sincerely causing the Headmistress to smile at him.

"Good. Repair will be starting next week once Minister Shacklebolt finishes cleaning up the Ministry and putting things into order. A group of Magical Architects will be coming over to assess the damage. A crew will be created to clean up the mess as well. Once the architects finish the assessment, I can finally come up with a budget plan to which part of the school needs to be repaired first."

That brought Harry up short.

"What do you mean 'which part', professor?" asked Harry in confusion. "Isn't the school going to be repaired as a whole?"

McGonagall shook her head and sighed.

"It is impossible at this point, Mr. Potter. Hogwarts doesn't have enough funding at the moment to accommodate a school-wide construction job. The Ministry coffers are being diverted to the rebuilding of Wizarding Britain, which includes Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, so the school doesn't expect much help in terms of money. This is also one of the reasons why we need to open school this coming September. The school needs the money to fund the rebuilding project."

A few ideas snapped in place inside Harry's head.

"Let me get this straight, professor, the only problem Hogwarts is having right now from being rebuilt to its former glory or even better is the lack of funds at its disposal?"

"Correct, Mr. Potter."

"So if there is money available then the school will be immediately rebuilt in its entirety?" Harry pressed.

"Indeed. If Hogwarts have the necessary funding then the school would be entirely rebuilt from the ground up in a span of 4 months give or take a few weeks.

"I think I may have a solution to our problem, professor. Hold on a bit." said Harry in excitement before going to his study table and retrieved the Lestrange ledger. He flipped a few pages until he got to the part where it detailed the total amount of money in the vault. He immediately went back to the couch and handed the opened ledge to McGonagall who looked at it in curiosity.

"Do you think that the amount on that page would be enough to cover the rebuilding cost, professor?" Harry asked innocently.

McGonagall looked down at the area where Harry indicated and spluttered at the eight figures detailing the size of the account. He looked at the innocent smiling boy in front of her.

"What is this, Mr. Potter? Where in the world did you get this kind of money?" said McGonagall in shock.

"Sirius left me the Black Family assets along with its Lordship. Considering that Bellatrix Lestrange was a Black before she got married to one of the Lestrange brothers, all of their assets reverted to her lord, in this case, me, since the law states that the nearest family member was supposed to get the deceased assets as a whole. I already have the Potter and Black family vaults for my own and having the Lestrange vault added to the mix is just too much. Besides, wouldn't it be ironic for a Death Eater's money to fund the restoration a place they destroyed?" explained Harry before a grin made its way to his face.

"I can't accept this, Mr. Potter. This is just too much." complained the Headmistress. Donation is one thing, offering the vault of one of the richest in Britain was purely another matter entirely.

"Professor, you told me that Hogwarts won't be fully rebuilt because of the lack of funds. Even the Ministry couldn't help since they are funding Britain's restoration as well. Besides, Professor Dumbledore always told me that Hogwarts would always offer its help to those who seek it. For me, Hogwarts provided me with a safe haven and a home, a place to learn that my magic is not an act of 'freakishness'. It is only right that I give something back to make sure that my first home in the Magical World is rebuilt to its former glory." Harry explained passionately that even the stern McGonagall was moved.

The Headmistress couldn't say anything to dispute such a heart-felt declaration. She knew that Harry treated Hogwarts as his home but she didn't know how much Harry loved the school. To deny him this opportunity to help in its restoration would be an insult. If he was serious to enough to offer the coffers of one of the richest pureblood families in Wizarding Britain then nothing will ever move the boy's decision to help.

"Alright, Mr. Potter. I accept your help and you have my gratitude for it. Just for clarification, how much of the money would be allocated to the school?" asked McGonagall.

Harry thought for a bit before another idea hit him. It was so brilliant that he amazed himself.

"Tell you what, professor, why don't we convert the Lestrange vault to a Hogwarts vault. You can use the money inside for restoration. Whatever is left can be used to help those who need to go to school but doesn't have the money for it. Like a scholarship for orphans and the needy. What do you say?" Harry asked enthusiastically.

McGonagall didn't say anything but just gave Harry a look before she fainted in the sheer shock of what the boy suggested.

McGonagall woke up 10 minutes later unable to believe everything that happened so far. Harry had to call Dippy for some drinks to help calm the Headmistress down. Instead of tea, McGonagall ordered a bottle of scotch from her stores causing one of Harry's eyebrows to rise up in amusement.

After a few more minutes of calming down, Harry and the Headmistress spent the rest of the night haggling over the Lestrange account on what was to be done with it.

For starters, the account would be renamed to Hogwarts Fund. The vault would be emptied of any non-monetary assets leaving only money inside. This can be easily arranged with a single trip to Gringotts since Harry had full access to the account itself.

The next order of business was to decide who would have access to the account. Harry first decided that the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts should have the only access to the vault but McGonagall rebutted it that it would be more efficient for the professors to have access as well with some stipulation to avoid thievery.

The rules was quite simple, money could only be withdrawn by the faculty enough for a student's supplies, which McGonagall stated would take around 200 galleons and the left over given to the student as an allowance for the entire year and used as they see fit. The money would be increased to 250 galleons for the Third Years and above. The tuition would be deducted automatically from the account with the permission of the Headmaster or Headmistress.

Since giving out money for free wouldn't be effective and quite a lot of people would be clamoring around to get their hands on the school's money, Harry suggested that the student have some sort of work schedule around the school while they are under scholarship. It was up to the Headmaster or Headmistress to assign the student ample tasks to help out without putting a dent on their schedule.

McGonagall also suggested that they shush up the presence of the money while the architect were doing their assessment of the damage and repair. In most cases, these professional would offer different sums for the rehabilitation of the school they would just take whatever offer sounds good then leave it at that.

Harry suggested to inform Minister Shacklebolt of their plans to avoid questions since it would be nigh mysterious for Hogwarts to suddenly have enough money to keep the school running for a decade or so without income rolling in. McGonagall agreed and promised to get in touch with Kingsley in the morning.

Harry's job was to go to Gringotts to finalize everything with the goblin. Considering that he was the original owner of the account, McGonagall included a stipulation that Harry would be a co-owner of the vault which allowed him to take money from it though Harry decided that he would never dip his fingers into the new Hogwarts Fun since he had plenty from the collective riches of the Potter and Black assets.

* * *

**January 15, 1998 (Thursday)**

Harry left early with Fawkes early in the morning to Gringotts to discuss the creation of the Hogwarts Fund from the Lestrange Vault. It was surprising that the process didn't take long to finish. The goblins required 30 minutes to transfer all the non-monetary assets in the Lestrange vault to the Black Family vault since it was only right to do so.

Harry and the goblin teller liquidated the investment portfolio of the Lestrange Family and had it transferred over to the Potter name, which resulted in Harry getting controlling shares in some business in the Wizarding World. The next order of business was the teller looking through the lists that Harry gave him concerning the new Hogwarts Fund.

In the end, the teller suggested for Harry to have three keys instead of one. One key would be for Harry since he was the co-owner of the account, one key for the Headmaster or Headmistress, and one key that gave the holder a limited access to the money in question.

A rule was also stipulated that large withdrawals aside from the Hogwarts construction fund would require his authorization to avoid fraudulent transactions from taking place.

Once the details were hammered out, Harry assigned the goblin teller, Spleensmash, as manager of the account. This caused the goblin to faint in shock with a confused Harry not knowing what to do. It took quite a while for the Spleensmash to wake up and explain to him why he fainted.

It was quite simple, wizards and witches NEVER assigned a goblin to manage their accounts. Goblins only took them down to the vault and safeguard their money that's it. A witch or wizard was assigned by the account holder to monitor the funds and nothing else.

Harry explained that he was no ordinary wizard and he didn't hold the goblin race with the same bias views as others. For him, witches and wizards were similar to goblins, not of the same species but both were magical. This caused the goblin to look at him in shock but was able to control himself. After drawing up an employment contract for the goblin, it was sealed with both their signature that Spleensmash would be managing the Hogwarts Fund along with the Potter and Black vaults and properties with Harry getting a statement every month for the Potter and Black vaults; the statement for Hogwarts Fund would be delivered both to him and the current Headmaster or Headmistress. Spleensmash woulod be given s salary of 5,000 galleons a year, which was twice the amount that a witch or wizard would earn in their regular pay and three times that of a regular goblin teller.

Harry left Gringotts with a please look on his face with Spleensmash immediately reporting everything that happened to his High King who also fainted in surprise.

* * *

_**It would be safe to say that you've noticed a slight difference in how I wrote this fic. I would like to extend my thanks to those who commented on my sister's work since it helped the both of us improve our command of the English language. Hopefully I didn't have that many errors in this fic but if there are then please point them out to me for my improvement. **_

_**Also, I think it is noticeable that I added a timeline to this fic. Since this is Post-Hogwarts, I think it would be a good idea to create a story with a fixed timeline to avoid some problems in the future. Also, I think the dates adds a certain zest to the story which makes it a whole lot interesting to read.  
**_

_**Oh, before I forget, this story will be quite long. I will be putting a lot of details into this fic to make it more fun to read. Also, don't expect for the story to jump directly to Twilight since I want to focus a bit on Harry's improvement as a wizard of caliber.  
**_

_**Hope you like the first chapter. I hope to get the next one uploaded soon since I have some free time till my sister gets back to work on her story.  
**_

_**Cheers,  
**_

_**Corruptmonk  
**_


	2. Seven Months of Learning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Never Have and Never Will. So there. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 02: Seven Months of Learning**

* * *

**January 20,1998 (Tuesday)**

Harry felt like banging his head on the table after reading the headline on the Daily Prophet which Minister Shacklebolt brought him, who was looking at him in amusement along with Headmistress McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore in his portrait.

There on the first page in large letters was the source of Harry's ire.

**Harry Potter, The-Man-Who-Conquered, Awarded Order of Merlin First Class**

**The Ministry of Magic proudly announces the end of war in Wizarding Britain thanks to the courageous effort of Harry James Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived now the Man-Who-Conquered, after finally ending Voldemort's reign of terror in a spectacular battle of wills and magic in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry. **

**To make this occasion a more momentous event, Minister Shacklebolt on behalf of the Ministry of Magic and the rest of the Wizarding Britain awards Harry James Potter the prestigious Order of Merlin First Class…**

Harry took his eyes away from the paper and glared at the two people and one portrait in the room who was eyeing him with amusement.

"You're having a kick out of my misery, aren't you?" accused Harry while slamming the paper on the Headmistress' table.

"Come on, Harry, it's not like you don't deserve that award." said Kingsley Shacklebolt, former member of the now defunct Order of the Phoenix, now Minister of Magic of Wizarding Britain.

"Oh shut it, Kingsley." growled Harry in exasperation. "I'm not the only one who deserves that award. Why single me out?"

"If you finish reading the news, Harry, you'll find out that those who went with you on the Horcrux hunt was also awarded an Order of Merlin Second Class, while those students who participated in the defense of Hogwarts was given an Order of Merlin Third Class. Fair is fair, you know." said Minister Shacklebolt.

"Fine. But if I'm getting mobbed then I'm blaming you." said Harry while giving Kingsley a glare which didn't faze the man. "Being the bloody boy-who-lived was enough to give me a headache now you drop this thing one me? Man-who-conquered indeed! What in the world would they think of next?"

"Language, Mr. Potter. You may be an adult now but you're still a student so a bit of moderation please." reprimanded McGonagall though the slight twitching of her lips told everyone that she found the whole thing amusing.

Harry didn't say anything but simply flopped down on the chair in front of the Headmistress' table. He looked at Kingsley who was still giving him an amused smile.

"I guess this isn't the only thing that you're here for, Kingsley. What do you want?" said Harry without preamble. He wasn't in the mood for propriety at the moment.

He spent the last few days studying and he was slowly catching up on his spells. He was now practicing the spells in the Fourth Year curriculum with no signs of stopping. Now he knew why Hermione loved to read so much, it was fascinating reading about magic and excitement in getting the spells right for the first time. He should have done this since the beginning.

"Well, after our meeting last week regarding the creation of Hogwarts Fund from the Lestrange Vault, I was able to put together a construction team of Ministry personnel that will help rebuild Hogwarts from scratch. The money in that vault is more than enough to rebuild Hogwarts and keep it running in the next 100 years without signs of emptying. Just want to inform the both of you that the crew will be coming over tomorrow to start with the assessment. Just giving you a heads up." Kingsley said with an innocent smile on his face. It was too innocent for Harry's own good. Something was up and he didn't like it.

"Not to sound rude or anything, Minster, but what does this have to do with me? I mean, I'm not the one in charge of Hogwarts. You should be talking to the Headmistress about it." Harry asked in confusion. The smile that grew on Kingsley's face spoke volumes. His gut was now turning itself into knots. He definitely won't like what's coming next.

"You mistake me, Harry. You ARE needed since you are the one who provided the funds in the first place. Think of yourself as one of heads in the project along with Headmistress McGonagall here." Kingsley explained patiently, properly choosing the wording since he knew that Harry would be blowing another gasket if he found out the ramifications of his actions, which wasn't far of the mark.

"Whoah, whoah! Wait a minute here. Don't tell me that I placed myself in the spotlight…again?" Harry asked incredulously. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that his contribution to the creation of the Hogwarts Fund would spell doom for his privacy in the future.

All he got was a nod from Kingsley followed closely followed by the Headmistress. Harry shrunk into his chair and sighed. This was going to be a long year.

* * *

**January 21, 1998 (Wednesday)**

Harry was both relaxed and nervous as he traversed the halls of Hogwarts making his way to the Great Hall where the assembly of the people who would be working on the castle was held.

He no longer feared running into the Weasleys since they already left the castle for Shell Cottage last week though Molly did leave a message for Harry with the Headmistress that he was welcome to join them anytime. Thankfully, Ron and Ginny didn't leave anything though he wouldn't even read them if they did.

However, Harry's nervousness stemmed from the parting words of Kingsley yesterday before their meeting ended. Kingsley said that he would be asking Harry to do something during the assembly. The Minister, however, was tight-lipped about the whole thing which made the Man-Who-Conquered curious and scared at the same time.

Harry reached the Great Hall in record time since his nervousness made him walk faster than normal. He looked around and saw that the large function room was filled to the brim. Kingsley was a bit vague when he mentioned that he put together a crew. From the amount of people in the room, it seems like the esteemed Minister of Magic brought the entire Ministry with him.

He was about to make a run for it when a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Ah, finally, Mr. Potter, everyone was waiting for you. Please come here and take a seat." said Minister Shacklebolt with a smile. Everyone in the Great Hall immediately turned their gaze towards him, standing under the arch of the Great Hall entrance like a deer cornered by tigers…lots and lots of tigers, tiger that could use magic and stop him before he could take a step back.

He inwardly cursed Kingsley for foiling his escape.

Gulping and trying to clamp down his nerves, Harry strolled over to the Head Table where the Minister and Headmistress were seated. He vowed to learn _Occlumency_ since he heard from Professor Snape while he was still alive that _Occlumency_ had the ability to dampen one's emotions.

Kingsley grabbed him in an iron grip since the man seemed to have an idea that he would make a run for when the next item in the agenda would be revealed. He wasn't wrong in that score since Harry was prepared to run away screaming since he already had an idea what would happen next.

"Mr. Potter, the construction crew had a few questions that they would love to be answered. We have an hour before the assessment will begin so please listen to their questions and answer them as honestly as you can." said Kingsley with a smile on his face though the Minister's eyes were twinkling in amusement.

Harry just sighed and turned towards the expecting crowd waiting for the open salvo of questions to be fired at him.

-x-x-x-x-x-

What supposed to be a one-hour question-and-answer session became a two-hour impromptu press conference much to Harry's frustration. Thankfully, lunch was announced which signaled the end of the questions from coming. Harry immediately dug into his meal since he was quite tired from opening his mouth and answering questions for the past two hours.

Once everyone was properly watered and fed, they adjourned to the ground where Headmistress McGonagall wished the construction crew a good luck as they moved on to their respective jobs.

It was an hour later that Harry was dragged by Minister Shacklebolt and Headmistress McGonagall to walk around the grounds to assess the damage before checking out the castle.

The construction crew was quite efficient since they were thoroughly briefed by Kingsley regarding their job description. They were put into groups and deployed in various areas around the castle and grounds.

Their first stop was the Quidditch Pitch where some of the Seventh Year students engaged Death Eater reinforcements and stopping them from entering the castle. On the way there, Harry noticed that the Whomping Willow was still in one piece though there was a large hole among its roots which signified that some of the Death Eaters used the Shrieking Shack as one of the entry points during the siege.

The damage done to the pitch was quite extensive. The bleachers were ruined and the hoops were long gone. Only one of the four towers was left standing, which housed the announcer and faculty watching the game. After approving the assessment and the request for materials, they moved on to the crew checking out the grounds.

Minister Shacklebolt told Harry and the Headmistress that a few witches who specialized in landscaping offered their help in fixing and improving the ruined grounds of Hogwarts. This made both teacher and student happy since Hogwarts was a beautiful place before the battle took place.

Harry made a mental note to send a letter to Neville if he was willing to help cultivate the necessary plants for Hogwarts. Neville might not be good with some spells but he was the perfect person to go to when plants were concerned.

Upon reaching Hagrid's Hut, the assessors happily reported that the stables and paddocks containing the animals were left untouched. It was a good idea on the Death Eater's part to leave it alone since Hagrid made it a home to some of the Blast-Ended Skrewts that survived the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry immediately approved the renovation of Hagrid's Hut, with a little bit of size improvement added to the mix, and the overhaul of his pumpkin patch. Harry almost broke all of his ribs when the happy half-giant gave him a bear hug in gratitude.

They didn't bother to check the Forbidden Forest but the trio decided to have a few Warders come up with a few wards to make sure that no student or creature enters and exits the dangerous forest. Harry suggested to the two to contact Gringotts since goblins were well-known for their defensive enchantments. They run a bank after all so it was a momentous task to ward the riches within from thieves.

They took a carriage to the gatehouse and saw that there wasn't one anymore. Harry suggested the creation of a better gatehouse, this time with the statues of the Four Founders as part of the décor to accentuate school's image. The Headmistresses immediately agreed since money wasn't a problem in this case.

They returned to the castle to meet with the assessor there to review the report of the damage.

According to the one in charge of the crew for assessing the castle, it seems that a majority of the damage was found in the northern section considering that was where the Death Eaters entered the castle's wards.

The front door was a mess along with the entrance hall. The vegetable garden and two of the five greenhouses were a total wreck. Some structural damage could be seen everywhere in the castle but does not require replacement, only repair.

The North Tower where the Astronomy Tower was located was trashed so that needed replacing. The Owlery was damaged so minor repairs were needed. There was a lot of structural damage in the Transfiguration Corridor, which according to the assessor was an easy fix.

The Courtyard needed an overhaul since that was where the students held off some of the Death Eaters from entering the castle proper, especially the Grand Staircase which would have allowed Death Eaters access to all important places in Hogwarts.

However, the protective wall covering the northern face required replacement. Harry suggested that it would be a good idea to cover the entire castle instead of just the northern face to make sure that the defenses were better suited for sieges.

Not that he was expecting another battle soon but it was better to be safe than sorry.

_Patronuses_ were sent out to call the heads of each group to tally their findings and come up with a budget plan for the total rehabilitation and improvement of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was an hour of brainstorming later that the head assessor solemnly handed a piece of parchment to the Headmistress detailing how much was needed to put the castle back to rights. This included costs of materials and labor cost. The head assessor who handed the tally mentally winced since the figures was sizable, enough to turn a minor house into a noble house in Wizarding Britain.

They were afraid that the Headmistress would suggest a cut back on the total cost but was surprised when both Harry Potter and Headmistress McGonagall looked at each other before nodding. They were surprised yet again when Fawkes appeared in all her flaming glory bringing a basket of supplies prepared in advance containing writing implements. The Headmistresses immediately penned a note addressed to Spleensmash authorizing the expenses countersigned by her and Harry.

Once that was done, the letter was duplicated and one was sent to Gringotts and the other copy given to the head of the group who was looking at the two of them with a look of shock and awe. Minister Shacklebolt was chuckling throughout the whole affair.

After a lot of cheering, it was finalized that the project would begin on the 1st of February once all the supplies arrive from their respective manufacturers.

* * *

**January 29, 1991 (Thursday)**

Harry was busy practicing a Sixth Year charm when an owl bearing a letter flew in through his window, dropped the letter on the Harry's study table, before leaving the same way it came in without so much as a hoot.

Harry banished the practice dummy in the middle of the room to the corner before going to his study table to check the letter.

From the face, it seems that it was sent through Eyelops Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley since it was part of their services to send mails for witches and wizards who didn't have one. Heck, their logo was even on the envelope.

Flipping the letter, he saw that it was addressed to him. Wondering who would send him a letter from Diagon Alley, he broke the seal and took out the letter before starting to read.

_**Dear Harry, **_

_**I am currently staying in Leaky Cauldron. Can you come over? There are some things I really need to talk to you about. **_

_**Love, **_

_**Hermione.**_

Harry was confused considering that the letter was too short for Hermione's standards. It was straight, to the point, and very short. Something was very wrong. Heck, even the dark spots on the letters were suspicious. Harry later found out that it was Hermione's tears. From the looks of it, she was crying as she wrote the letter.

Putting the letter on the desk, he immediately dashed to his bedroom for a change of clothes. Once done, he barreled down to the fireplace in the living room, gave Albus a heads up as to where he was going before throwing _floo_ powder into the fire. A brief shout of Leaky Cauldron later, Harry was on his way.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry clumsily stepped out of the _floo_ in Leaky Cauldron. Thanks to a few lessons from Albus, he avoided being thrown out of the fireplace every time he used the _floo_. Though he still needed to practice to do it like a normal wizarding citizen would do despite stumbling a lot since he couldn't get the timing right.

He approached Tom the Barman and asked which room Hermione was in. Tom directed Harry to room seven on the second _floo_r.

Not wasting any time, Harry ran up the stairs and looked around until he found the right door. He knocked on the door urgently until it was opened by one Hermione Granger with face full of tears.

Without any thought, Harry immediately went into the room, closed the door, and engulfed Hermione in a hug. That opened the _floo_dgate as Hermione's tears started to flow again. He could easily hear her cries of anguish and it pulled at his heart since he always loved Hermione as a sister – a family he never had.

Harry was able to drag the both of them to the bed where he continued to hold on to the girl as she cried her eyes out, patting her on the back while whispering soothing words to her ears.

It was ten minutes later that Hermione was able to control herself enough to get hold of her emotions and talk.

"Thanks for coming, Harry. I don't know anyone else to turn to." whispered Hermione as she hugged her best friend tighter, finding comfort in the strong arms of her brother in all but blood.

"There there, Hermione. You already know that I would be always there for you, right?" Harry assured her with a smile. "What's wrong? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with your parents?"

Hermione's eyes watered again when her parents were mentioned but she controlled herself enough to talk.

"M-my parents are gone, Harry. T-they were murdered." said Hermione as her tears started to flow again. "I sealed their memories and sent them to Australia so they won't be part of the war. But it seems that V-Voldemort was one step ahead of me. He sent some Death Eaters to where my parents were and killed them. T-they're dead, Harry. What am I going to do?"

Harry was speechless. Hermione's carefully laid plans were expected by Voldemort? Her parents who she sent away to protect them was dead. It was the ultimate trap - damned if you did, damned if you don't.

"What happened when you got there?" asked Harry, he needed to know everything so he would know what to do to help her adopted sister.

Hermione explained that the house she bought for her parents using the last of their money was destroyed. After asking around, she learned from old newspapers that the house blew up while the couple was inside. There were no survivors. Experts were baffled as to why there was an explosion when the house itself was not connected to the gas lines and there were no signs of leakage inside. She did a spell to find magical signatures in the area and the results came back positive. The explosion was caused by magic and only someone who wanted the couple dead could do such a thing.

It took her a while to return because she needed to arrange the funeral for her parents even if the bodies were no longer there being turned to ash by the intensity of the flames.

"What am I going to do, Harry? I don't have anything anymore. My parents are gone. I'm all alone." said Hermione as she cried again.

Harry hugged his adopted sister, mind whirling with solutions to Hermione's problems. The first thing he needed to do was make sure that Hermione was well-provided for. That means a trip to Gringotts. Then he needed to ask McGonagall if Hermione could stay with him in Gryffindor's Quarters. He instinctively knew that the Headmistress would accommodate her requests since Hermione was one of her favorites. First, he needed to get Hermione to relax. It wouldn't do much good for her to fly apart before some things could be done to fix things.

"You were never alone, Hermione. I'm always here for you. You might not be my sister in blood but I have always treated you as such so I'll always be here for you." Harry said in a soothing voice. He didn't know where this part of him came from but seeing Hermione crying and in pain in front of him brought out instincts that he didn't know were there.

This declaration brought out a fresh wave of tears from Hermione until she cried herself to sleep with Harry holding on to her, never letting go.

-x-x-x-x-x-

When Harry was sure that Hermione was asleep, he slowly removed her arms from his neck and laid her down on the bed to properly rest. He stood up and drew his wand before casting a _sleeping charm _on her to make sure that she doesn't wake up. She needed the rest so Harry would keep her that way until she wakes up later or in the morning.

His first order of business was to send a letter to Spleensmash and the Headmistress. He moved to the only table in the room and saw that there were writing supplies ready for him to use. He immediately penned a letter to his account manager requesting for a pouch and another Gringotts card made for Hermione connected to the Black Vault. Another letter was for the Headmistress explaining everything that happened to Hermione and a request to let Hermione stay with him since she had nowhere else to go.

Once that was done, he reread the letter before calling for Fawkes to deliver the missives. He instructed the phoenix to wait for a reply from McGonagall since he knew that the goblin would send a Gringotts owl with his requests.

Harry moved to the bed when Fawkes flamed out, conjured a chair before sitting down waiting for Hermione to wake up and give her the news.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Hermione opened her eyes, for once feeling well rested.

The two-week trip to Australia was a like a roller coaster for her. Finding her parents dead despite the length she went through to protect them was a blow to her pride and heart. It was a painstaking task to prepare for a burial and she had to resort through some magical means just to make sure that it was pushed through. She was ashamed of using magic to allow her parents to properly rest but that was the only thing that her rational mind was able to do on such a short notice.

Once the proceedings were done, she immediately activated her _portkey_ depositing her in her bedroom in Britain. Looking around, she felt so alone in the world, seeing her and her parents' belongings around her, she almost broke down crying until she managed to control herself with inhuman effort. She packed everything she could in her trunk and left the house before _apparating_ to the Leaky Cauldron.

Using what's left of her money she saved up during her years at Hogwarts, she booked a room in the Leaky Cauldron and immediately went up without so much as a by-your-leave. She wrote a letter to the only person she could ask for help at the moment, Harry. Once that was done, she freshened up a bit before going to Eyelop to have it delivered to wherever Harry. She returned to her room for another bout of crying and grieving.

She questioned herself as to why she sent a letter to Harry instead of Ron. Despite her grief-laden mind, she realized that Harry had always been there to lend her a shoulder when needed. Ron would just get into an argument with her which would usually make things worst.

Thankfully, it was an hour later that Harry arrived knocking on her door. When she opened it, her brother in all but blood immediately hugged her as if sensing that she needed the comfort that only he could give. Once in the comfort of his arms, she cried again. She wasn't even aware that Harry maneuvered her to the bed where they sat down.

She explained everything and was touched when Harry told her that he would always be there for her. Her grief and worries over her future were set aside as Harry encompassed her with his calming presence. She didn't even notice that she fell asleep in his arms.

She turned her head to a sound of light snoring and saw that Harry was there sleeping on a couch that wasn't in the room before. She assumed that he must have conjured it or something. Even when she was asleep, he didn't leave her alone. A tear made its way down her cheek.

Hermione stood up from her bed and nudged Harry awake. His drowsy look made her giggle which Harry easily caught and smiled.

"How are you feeling, Mione?" Harry asked in concern.

"I'm alright now, Harry. It hurts but I need to move on to honor my parents." Hermione said sadly, tears making their way out of her eyes.

Harry saw this and immediately stood up from his conjured chair and moved over to sit beside his adopted sister and engulfed her in a hug. They stayed that way for a few more minutes before being startled at the arrival of Fawkes bearing a letter from the Headmistress.

"Harry, is that…Fawkes?" asked Hermione in shock. Last she heard, Fawkes disappeared when the Headmaster died. How come the phoenix was here now?

"Yes, Mione. That's Fawkes." said Harry as he took the letter from the bird before it flew and perched on Hermione's shoulder, singing out a song of comfort and love which immediately lifted up her spirit. Seeing that Hermione was in good hands, err, talons, Harry opened the letter and grinned at McGonagall reply.

"Are you ready to leave, Mione?" asked Harry as he stood up from the bed and stretched a bit which causing his spine to pop.

"Leave? Where are we going, Harry?" asked a confused Hermione.

"First, we are going to Gringotts to get you some money for expenses then we are going to Hogwarts where you will be staying with me in Gryffindor's Quarters for the rest of the year until we graduate." He immediately raised his hand to stop her from asking another question. "I will answer all your questions later, Mione. But for now, we need to hurry and get you settled in. Alright?"

Hermione nodded and was ushered to the bathroom to freshen up while Harry packed up all of her sister's items in the room and shrunk them before placing them inside his pocket.

It was five minutes later that Hermione exited the bathroom, looking fresh and beautiful, before she was dragged by an excited Harry James Potter out of her room and the Leaky Cauldron towards Gringotts.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry got an earful from one Hermione Jane Granger when they reached Gringotts. Hermione gave Harry a once over when he found out that his brother-in-all-but-blood arranged for her to have unlimited access to the Black Vault which contained MILLIONS of galleon for her to use. Her tirade was cut off when Harry told her that he would be taking care of her from now on and Sirius would be a happy puppy if she accepted. That shut her up but promised a longer talk later that made him wince.

After the stint with Gringotts, Harry dragged Hermione to Madam Malkins to get fitted with muggle and wizarding clothes. Considering that she had nothing to return to in the muggle world, Hermione told Harry that she would be sticking with him since they were both orphans. Harry simply hugged Hermione as thanks. He planned to go out into the world alone but having someone there he trusted made him happy.

While waiting for her clothes to be properly adjusted, they made their way to Florean Fontescue Ice Cream Parlor, which was under new management since the previous owner died, and had an ice cream to pass the time. There, Harry put up a _privacy charm_ which impressed Hermione.

Harry explained everything, from finding out Ron and Ginny's plans for him to his studying session in Hogwarts.

After the story, Hermione didn't know what to do. First thing she wanted was to _floo_ over to Shell Cottage and give Ron and Ginny a piece of her mind, preferably with a few spells thrown in for good measure, but Harry assured her that they would take care of that in the future.

Also, Hermione was shocked that Harry gave the Lestrange Vault to Hogwarts as a source of fund to rebuild the school and a source of money for future scholarships. She hugged him for such a thoughtful thing to do and nearly squeezed the life out of him when he mentioned that he was going to do his best in studying magic without having to pull down his abilities which was a subconscious reaction from his time with the Dursleys.

Hermione heard that and was restrained by Harry just in time since the bushy-haired witch was about to _apparate_ to Privet Drive and give the Dursleys a piece of her mind.

Since there was still plenty of time left to pick up the clothes from Madam Malkins, Hermione dragged Harry to Flourish and Blotts where she judiciously used the money pouch tied to the Black Vault in purchasing books Harry needed to catch up with lessons that he missed – specifically Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.

Harry was happy that Hermione found her center again and was busy running around the bookstore frantically looking for the right books for both of them to study.

Her next stop was in Eyelops where she purchased an owl for her personal use. She found a Screech Owl that immediately took a liking to her. She named her Athena much to Harry's amusement. She told Harry that she needed to drop by the Weasleys soon since she left Crookshanks with them for safekeeping since she didn't want to bring her along in her trip to Australia.

Harry immediately offered the services of Fawkes but Hermione declined since the presence of the renowned phoenix might cause some questions to be asked. She did promise her to leave immediately after getting Crookshanks so Ron and Ginny won't get their hooks on her.

After replenishing their writing supplies, they immediately dropped by Madam Malkins to pick up Hermione's clothes which she paid using her own money pouch. Harry was again happy that Hermione accepted the money without question though he still dreaded the talk they would be having later.

Finished with their impromptu shopping trip, Harry and Hermione _apparated_ to Hogwarts and was met at the entrance by Headmistress McGonagall. After a short talk, she ushered them both to Gryffindor's Quarters where they both discovered that the Headmistress took the liberty of preparing the chamber with another bed and wardrobe for Hermione. She left afterwards promising a visit and talk in the future.

Tired from the day's events, Harry and Hermione relaxed in the living room engaging in a conversation on various topics to pass the time. Thanks to Harry's presence, Hermione was slowly getting over her grief but it would take a lot of time before she would be back to her normal cheerful self.

It didn't take long for the two of them to get tired enough to sleep. After a short dinner, Harry and Hermione went to the bedroom and slept on their respective beds, enjoying Morpheus' embrace.

Harry and Hermione fell into a routine lifestyle after that hectic day in Diagon Alley. After clueing her in on his private studies, Hermione immediately took out a parchment and created a study schedule for the both of them to make sure that they were well-prepared for their Seventh Year.

Headmistress McGonagall gave them a free run of the castle so they could utilize the resources available to them as needed – this includes the Hogwarts Library including the Restricted Section, the Potions classroom, and the Room of Requirements for Dueling Practice. The latter of which was greatly appreciated by Harry and Hermione since none of them wanted to slack off with their dueling skills even if the threat of Voldemort was no longer hanging over their heads.

With that prompting, Hermione immediately commanded Harry to purchase potion ingredients from First to Sixth Years so Harry could start brewing ALL the potions in the books. Harry was about to protest but shut up when she immediately took out her wand and threatened him with a painful hex if he didn't do as ordered.

Sure, Harry was a powerful wizard among his peers or even some adult witches and wizards in Wizarding Britain but he could never beat a Hermione who was hell-bent on studying. It was a scary sight and he could have sworn that Albus also paled when the bushy-haired witch rounded on him when he released a chuckle, threatening to burn his portrait if he didn't shut up.

The schedule Hermione came up for them was intensive. Since they have around seven months of free time till their Seventh Year starts, Hermione made sure that they were advanced in their studies so they could use their 9 months of school to do self-study as time permitted.

Since Harry was done reviewing all the spells from First to Seventh Years, Hermione tasked him to use the first month of their self-study session to brew the potions from First to Sixth Year. Of course, Harry immediately complied for two reasons. One, he didn't want Hermione to get angry since she was scarier than Voldemort when it came to academics; and two, Harry loved the idea of learning potions without Snape breathing down his neck. Also, potion-making was like cooking so he definitely liked the chore given to him.

The second and third month was for Harry to get a thorough grounding on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Thanks to the notes Hermione made during her Electives in Third to Sixth year, Harry skimmed through the lessons with ease. Hermione was also a gifted tutor as she slowly instructed Harry on what needs to be done or the various rules that came with the subjects. Both realized how fun it was to study with another person who shared the same passion as the other did. Harry regretted not getting into the habit with Hermione before but it was better to be late than never.

The fourth month was dedicated to a subject that they both wanted to perfect – Silent Casting. Thankfully, Albus was very helpful in this regard so he was able to guide the two on how to properly cast spells using their thoughts alone and without verbalizing the incantation. They progressed to the point that their 2-hour duel everyday was more on silent casting, trading spells non-verbally and recognizing spells as they were cast according to color and signature.

It was also during their fourth month that Harry and Hermione realized that both of them were out of shape. This prompted them to include a physical exercise regimen. They used the Room of Requirements to provide them with a large running track, as well as various gym equipments to keep them in shape.

In connection with this study, Albus taught both Harry and Hermione the basics of _Occlumency_ since this skill would help in developing one's focus, memory recall and retention, and of course, protecting one's mind. Luckily for them, they could test each other's shields using _Legilimency_ which they learned from a book.

The side-effect of this method allowed both of them to become closer than before. Since both were invading each other's thoughts, Harry and Hermione both read each other's mind, familiarizing themselves with each other and improving their relationship to something that could be considered as family.

They were able to properly defend their minds against each other using the basic mind shield but Albus confided in them that a continuous practice of _Occlumency_ slowly improves their shields to the point of being impenetrable. This was the reason why Snape and his mind was very secure that not even Voldemort could penetrate their shields.

The fifth to seventh month was focused on self-study, picking a specialization that was mostly the trend for Seventh Year students.

Hermione focused on Spell Creation thank to her innate understanding of Arithmancy.

Harry, on the other hand, focused more on Warding since he found protective wards to be an interesting study. In conjunction to this study, Harry also learned Curse Breaking since both were mostly similar with each other. If you can put up a ward then it only stands to reason that you know how to break one.

Harry also delved into advanced potions-making which was later joined by Hermione as they researched on how to improve potions or come up with new ones. The latter was quite slow since they lacked one more year of study which was crucial for those who wanted to become Potion Masters.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was during their fourth month of self-study that Harry finally had a missive from the Weasleys. The first letter he got was from Molly Weasley asking about his status. It seems that the Headmistress told the Weasleys that Harry and the Dursleys were out of the country since they made up as a family.

Harry scoffed at this since the Dursleys accepting him was like asking for a cat to mate with a dog. He shivered at the thought since his mind usually went around the bend when his hormones started kicking in. He knew that he was late but the war halted his maturity in terms of sexuality and the lack of threat to his life opened his eyes to more natural avenues. According to Hermione, Voldemort was the ultimate cock-blocker.

It was during this time that he found out that he had a thing for both boys and girls. He confided in Hermione about this and all he got from her that it was part of growing up. Some people who didn't have the leisure of submitting to their hormones tend to be confused on what sexuality they like best.

In most cases, Harry's bisexuality may possibly be temporary though exposure to both sexes would determine if he liked blokes, girls, or both. Harry didn't mind since he wasn't the type to discriminate.

Back to the Weasleys, after a brief conference with Hermione in deciding on what to do, Harry settled to just telling the truth. Since this was Molly Weasley they were talking about, they decided to avoid talking about Ron and Ginny's plot.

It wouldn't work anyway since Harry was already aware of it and Hermione would be there to watch his back just in case they tried to use underhanded means.

Harry informed Mrs. Weasley that he was currently in Hogwarts studying. He told her in confidence that he didn't learn much during his six years in the school because of the looming threat of Voldemort. Now that the Dark Lord hazard was gone, he could now concentrate on studying and found it to his liking.

Molly's reply was positive and gave Harry her blessing to do his best and told him that she would always be there if he ever needed help.

Harry was happy about that since the plot made by Ron and Ginny were exclusive between the two and not affecting the rest of the family. Heck, if Molly was in on the plot then she would have insisted that he stayed at the Burrow and have fun with Ron and Ginny.

Harry and Hermione also received letters from Ron and Ginny. Both were different in content but both could see the plot they were working on.

To Harry, Ron wrote how he missed his dark-haired brother and that he and Ginny missed his company. He invited him to the now-fixed Burrow for a quidditch game and bond with the family. Ginny sent him a letter on how she missed him very much and urged Harry to reverse his decision of avoiding a relationship with her since Voldemort was no longer there to put her in danger.

He didn't reply to both.

Hermione, on the other hand, received a letter from Ronald telling her how he missed her and that he wanted to get back with her. The reason for the letter was when Hermione went to retrieve Crookshanks, she told Ron that she wasn't in the mood go into a relationship with him since she looked up to him as a brother and not a lover. This didn't sit well with Ron and got on a row which ended up with Hermione _silencing_ him before _apparating_ back to Hogwarts.

She could have used something more painful to hex him with but refrained from doing so since she didn't want the relationship she and Harry had with the rest of the family to be strained.

* * *

**August 25, 1998 (Tuesday)**

Harry James Potter woke up with a yawn, before realizing what day it was. He excitedly jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to prepare for the day. He got his letter from McGonagall last night listing down the supplies they needed for their Seventh Year of schooling. He and Hermione decided last night that they would go to Diagon Alley today and shop, even possibly hang around until they felt like it to return back to Hogwarts.

He went back to his room after a nice hot shower clad only in a towel. Being with Hermione for seven months and sharing memories and experiences with each other removed the shyness and awkward moments, more so when he opened his sexuality to her. Hermione would walk around the room with only her bra and underwear and it wouldn't even faze him. Harry did the same a couple of time, though without the bra, and all he got from Hermione was a raised eyebrow though he did blush when she made a passing comment regarding his 'wand' saying that it was getting too big for his underwear.

Both of them were never ashamed of being physically open with each other. Besides, their bodies can be considered as drool-worthy if they decided to really dress to kill. Their physical exercise program coupled with good food and constant dueling resulted in a great improvement on their appearance.

He was now standing at 6'1 with a ripped body fit for an Olympic swimmer. Hermione was shorter than him at 5'9 though her assets were something that would make a supermodel drool with envy.

Also, his presence and the constant studying and training they had together made sure to get rid of the lingering grief she had regarding her parents' death. She gets sad sometimes but no longer was she going into a crying mess because of it.

Harry put on a black form-fitting shirt and jeans topped by a black wizarding cloak which Harry knew clashed with each other considering how informal his muggle clothes was compared to the cloak though he didn't care one bit. He flicked his wrist causing his wand to appear on his hand from the wrist holster he was wearing, he conjured a floor-length body mirror and checked out his outfit. After nodding in approval, he banished the mirror before moving towards Hermione's bed to wake her up.

"Hey, sis, time to get up." said Harry as he prodded on the immobile lump underneath the covers. "Hermione, wake up."

There was a garbled response coming from her sleeping form but didn't wake.

Harry sighed. It was time to bring out the big guns.

"Professor McGonagall is down in the living room wanting to talk to you." shouted Harry.

That did the trick. Even before he finished the sentence, Hermione jumped out of the bed and into the bathroom so fast that he could have sworn she _apparated_, which was quite impossible considering that _apparition_ or _portkeys_ doesn't work in Hogwarts unless the latter was created by the Headmistress.

Giving himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done, he left the bedroom to the living room and made himself comfortable on the sofa reading a book on Wards while he waited for Hermione to finish. He looked up towards the portrait and saw that it was empty. Albus must be in the Headmistress' office.

It was twenty minutes later that Hermione appeared in the living room looking around. She scowled and leveled Harry a glare.

"That was quite cruel, Harry, using Professor McGonagall like that to wake me up." Hermione accused her surrogate brother as she flopped down on her favorite couch.

"You wouldn't wake up." Harry defended himself. "Besides, you told me last night to wake you up early at any cost. Since you didn't jump off the bed the first time I poked you while you were under the covers, I have to resort to drastic measures."

"Hmmmph. Well, what are our plans for the day aside from shopping?" asked Hermione as she grabbed the book Harry was reading and gave it a glance.

Harry scowled at the action and crossed his arms over his chest before giving her a pout.

"Professor McGonagall wanted to meet with us at the Great Hall during breakfast. She wanted to give us something that we were going to need when school starts." Harry informed her with a frown.

A curious look crossed Hermione's face.

"Something we need? Did she say anything else?" she asked curiously. She made a mental list of things they needed for Seventh Year and the things they lacked can be bought in Diagon Alley.

Harry shook his head in negative.

"Nope. If we want to find out then we might want to get down to the Great Hall and grab a bite to eat. The sooner we talk to her the sooner we can get to our shopping in Diagon Alley." said Harry with a little bit of excitement leaking in his voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his Harry's antics. Her surrogate brother was like a kid sometimes despite his age. He was eighteen for crying out loud.

Nodding an affirmative, both of them stood up and walked out of Gryffindor's Quarters and made their way to the Great Hall.

When they got there, Harry noticed that only a few of the professors were present, namely Professor Flitwick, Professor Sinistra, and Professor Babblings. Ever since the school was fully rebuilt two weeks ago, the professors were slowly trickling in like they used to when Hogwarts was whole during the war. It seems that they got the memo late though he expected the absent professors to be present when school properly starts. He was curious, however, when he discovered that the Headmistress was absent. She was usually the first one in the Great Hall.

Shrugging, Harry followed Hermione to the Gryffindor table and sat down. Immediately, an English breakfast appeared in front of them and dug in.

Ever since they started their exercise program, Hermione made sure after a consultation with Madam Pomfrey to eat a lot of proteins since normal witches and wizards burn them to energy at an alarming rate due to the use of magic. Considering that he and Hermione were burning them twice as fast with all their physical exercise and dueling, the strict mother hen of the hospital wing suggested that they eat a lot to avoid getting hungry in the middle of the day.

Harry finished first and started to relax while enjoying a fresh cup of coffee. Ever since Dippy suggested the beverage to him, he was hooked. Since that point on, his day usually starts with a cup or a mug of coffee and would often get grumpy if he didn't get one. Hermione preferred tea though she sometimes made a request for fruit juice or a smoothie once a while since one of the house elves in the kitchen learned it from a half-blood family before they were killed by Voldemort's Death Eaters.

It was ten minutes later that Harry and Hermione was about to leave when the Headmistress entered the Great Hall. Looking around, she spotted them and beckoned for them to wait as he walked towards the duo.

"Good Morning, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger," greeted McGonagall. "I hope you slept well."

"We did, professor, though sis here had a problem waking up and I had to resort to drastic measures to make sure she gets out of bed." said Harry while giving Hermione a teasing grin.

"Hmmmph." Was all Hermione said since anything she would say would just implicate her.

McGonagall leveled both of them amused looks though she gave Harry a curiously-raised eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you used my name to get her out of bed." she asked Harry pointedly.

"Guilty." Harry said with a grin though there was no sign of being guilty on his face.

"Well, before you leave for your shopping trip, I want to give these to the both of you." said McGonagall before handing a sealed envelope to Harry and another to Hermione.

Curious, Harry immediately opened the envelope but didn't see any letter. He reversed it upside down and was able to catch a glittering golden badge with a large 'HB' on the front.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Harry as he realized what the badge signified.

Hermione whacked him on the head.

"Language, brother mine." Hermione reprimanded her brother with a scowl though it immediately turned to a grin when she hastily opened her envelope to reveal a similar badge, but this one with a large 'HG'.

"I hope you understand the meaning of those badges?" asked McGonagall seriously.

"Yes, professor, it is an honor to be presented with this position." said Hermione formally though Harry was still staring at his badge in surprise.

"I suggest that you brief your brother regarding his responsibilities. I expect the both of you to be in King's Cross on the First of September to help the students get into the platform. A Prefect's meeting will be called by you during the train ride where you will give them their patrol schedules for the entire year. I hope that is within your power to accommodate, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione nodded excitedly. She needed to get her shopping done so she could come back and plot the patrol schedules for the year.

"It is, professor, we won't let you down." she said before nudging Harry to pay attention.

Harry looked up from his staring and blinked.

"Uhh…yes, professor, understood. Hermione and I will do our best not to let you down." Harry said with conviction. Being a Head Boy was hard work but the position was a coveted one.

McGonagall gave the duo a smile and a nod before making her way to the Head Table for a bite of breakfast. She didn't see Hermione dragging Harry out of the Great Hall towards the Hogwart's apparition point to get their shopping started, both of them disappearing with a barely audible crack.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Why in Merlin's name are you in a hurry, sis?" asked Harry when he and Hermione appeared in Diagon Alley.

Hermione just rolled her eyes as she let go of Harry's arm.

"I want to get the shopping done as soon as possible since we need to plot the patrol schedule for the Prefects." explained Hermione as she made her way to Flourish and Blotts to get their school books.

"Mione, we still have a few days to plan that out. Trust me; it won't take us an hour or two to finish the schedule. Relax or you're going to start getting wrinkles." chided Harry as he walked beside his sister as they made their way to the bookstore.

"Fine." said Hermione in a huff. "Are we going to stick with Diagon Alley or are we going down to Knockturn later to check out some books?"

It was during their fourth month in self-study that Harry had an urge to go down Knockturn Alley. The first time he went there was a bit scary since he was an untrained wizard. Now, however, was a whole new ball game.

Without Hermione knowing about it, Harry went to Knockturn and perused some of the rare books sold in Borgin and Burkes. Of course, the residents of the dark alley recognized him immediately and totally disappeared from his sight much to his amusement. He was able to acquire a rare potions book that he showed Hermione when he got back to Hogwarts.

The tongue lashing he got form her was enough to make his head spin and ears ring but she ended her tirade by berating him that he SHOULD have taken her with him. She made her promise to do so next time, which he did and both were happy with some of the rare books they got at reasonable prices since the shops there wouldn't want to cross the Man-Who-Conquered.

"Hmmm…I'm not sure." mused Harry as they entered Flourish and Blotts. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Not really, though I wouldn't say no to a little exploring since I want to see if they have some good books on Spell Creation. I already read the one in Hogwarts and I found the information lacking." said Hermione as she handed her book list to the attendant behind the counter who was giving Harry a bug-eyed look. She saw that and immediately snapped her fingers in front of the attendant to catch his attention. The attendant blinked and apologized for staring before going into the back to gather the books they needed.

"You know…I would never get used to being stared at all the time." said Harry with a groan.

Hermione patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll get used to it, Harry. There's a muggle saying that definitely fits you. If you can't beat them, join them. Might as well get used to it than get annoyed all the time when they do it." advised Hermione as she checked out the flyers on the counter on the new Owl-Order service they were offering - instant delivery for only 10 sickles.

"I know, Mione, but it doesn't make things easier." Harry said with a sigh. "I mean, it would have been nice to just stroll down Diagon Alley without people gawking at you. Sure it's flattering but it gets annoying real fast."

Hermione was about to say something when a voice they were both familiar with interrupted her.

"Potter, I never knew you to be the one to shy away from fame."

Harry just rolled his eyes and looked at the blonde aristocrat behind him.

"Hello, Draco. Nice of you to drop by." drawled Harry but eventually noticed the blonde's outfit. "My, my, my, Draco, you look…positively…scrumptious."

Harry was currently leering at a clearly uncomfortable Draco who was dressed to impress, in a pureblood wizarding way, of course.

"Of really, Potter." drawled Draco while trying to ignore the leer that Harry was giving him. "Wizarding fashion is so above you."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that" Harry purred causing Draco's to grow goosebumps. "What I'm seeing right now is the epitome of Wizarding Fashion…I wonder how you would look…without …it. I wouldn't mind for me to be above _you_ and find out."

Draco didn't know what came over Potter at that moment but he needed to get out of there fast since the Man-Who-Conquered was creeping him out. Since a tactical retreat was in order, he simply sniffed and walked out of the bookstore at a sedate pace though deep inside his instinct was screaming at him to run.

When Draco left, Harry turned to Hermione who was raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" asked Harry.

"You were either flirting with him or scaring the poor boy." asked Hermione.

"The latter." admitted Harry with aplomb. "Sure he might be a good looking bloke but I don't like his attitude. I'm not into physical attraction. I prefer a guy or a girl to have a brain in between their shoulders though a good looking face and body is a definite plus. Just so you know…Draco doesn't fit the bill."

"I see." said Hermione as she pocketed the Harry and her books after shrinking them. "We're all done here. Shall we go to the Apothecary next? I'm almost out of potion ingredients. I think you need to restock to as well."

Harry nodded and exited the store with Hermione in tow.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Of all the times we have to go shopping, why do we have to meet with them now?" complained Harry with a slight whine in his voice.

"What in the world are you talking about, Harry?" asked Hermione who looked at him with a curious eyebrow raised.

Harry didn't answer but simply tilted his head to the side which Hermione followed. She saw two people that she didn't expect to meet during this trip.

"Might as well get this over and done with," Harry said with a sigh before approaching the woman with a mane of red hair on her head. "Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."

At the mention of her name, Molly turned around and saw someone that brought a smile to her face.

"Harry!" shouted Molly before giving Harry a hug that would put bears to shame. "It's been months since I last saw you, dear. Let me look at you…oh my, you grew up quite well. Been eating right?"

Harry nodded with a smile before kissing Molly on the cheek.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley. Good to see you too. Hermione and I came out of Hogwarts to do some shopping." said Harry as he moved to the side revealing Hermione who was smiling at her.

"Hermione Granger. My goodness, if I didn't recognize your eyes and hair I might have missed you entirely." shrieked Molly Weasley before engulfing the bushy-haired bookworm in a strong hug.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley. It's been a while." greeted Hermione as she returned the hug. "Doing shopping?"

"Oh yes, Arthur is somewhere in the store while I'm checking out some ingredients to be used for Ginny's home-schooling." explained Molly with a smile on her face. "I take it the both of you will be taking your Seventh Year at Hogwarts?"

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"Harry, Hermione, so good to see you." greeted Arthur Weasley as he made his way to the group carrying a box of potion ingredients under his right arm.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley." Harry and Hermione chorused together causing Molly to give them a weird look and Arthur to laugh.

"Molly, why don't you talk to Hermione for a while? I need to ask Harry something in private." Arthur addressed his wife who just nodded before taking Hermione's arm and pulling her into the store discussing the potion ingredients Hermione would need for Seventh Year.

Arthur Weasley draped an arm over Harry's shoulder and guided him outside the store. When he got there, Arthur gave Harry a curious look.

"Harry, is there something wrong with you and some of my kids?" asked Arthur without preamble. Harry guessed that the Weasley Patriarch might have heard something from Ron and Ginny.

"What do you mean, Mr. Weasley?" asked Harry, an innocent look on his face.

"It's just that I heard Ron and Ginny complaining that you weren't answering their letters." said Arthur, concern written all over his face. "I was thinking that you might have a row with them."

"Not really, Mr. Weasley, but something did happen and I can't say it out loud in public. Um….do you by chance have access to a _pensieve_?" asked Harry, a plan forming in his head.

"Well, I can use the _Solicitor's Pensieve_ in the DMLE anytime I want if there is need. Why do you ask?" Arthur asked curiously.

Harry didn't say anything but flicked his wrist to bring out his wand. He conjured a crystal vial with another flick before placing the tip of his wand on his temple. Concentrating on a particular memory, Harry slowly withdrew the wand from his temple bringing a silver memory thread with it. With another flick, he deposited the memory strand inside the vial and placed the stopper. He enchanted it with an _unbreakable charm_ along with a _magic-recognition charm_ keyed to Mr. Weasley so only he could open it.

Arthur was astounded at the speed in which Harry brought out his wand, conjured a crystal vial effortlessly which was supposed to be learned during their final year at Hogwarts, and pulled out a memory without so much as missing a beat. He also added two charms that he recognized and commonly used by Aurors. The Man-Who-Conquered was definitely a title Harry earned.

"Here you go, Mr. Weasley. I want you to view this memory. Don't worry, it's a copy so you can either keep it or destroy it afterwards." said Harry with a smile while stowing his wand back into his holster. "If you have any questions afterwards then we could meet somewhere and discuss it."

Without any word, Harry entered the store leaving a curious Arthur Weasley staring at the vial before turning to Harry who was moving deep into the store.

-x-x-x-x-x-

After the meeting with the Weasleys, the rest of the shopping went without a hitch.

Harry and Hermione visited Madam Malkins again to be fitted with some new robes since the ones they had were getting a bit too tight to wear. Promising to come back in an hour to pick up their orders, the duo made their way to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley to peruse the books.

The duo ended up lucky again as Hermione found a compendium of books on Spell Creation which she readily bought without bothering to haggle for the price. Harry, on the other hand, acquired a book on Animagus transformation, which was quite rare. They checked out other selections but didn't find any that suited their interest so they left and went back to Diagon to finish their shopping.

Hermione stocked up on owl treats for Athena while Harry checked out some treats that phoenixes loved to eat. After a short break of Butterbeer and a sandwich in the Leaky Cauldron, Harry left Hermione to get their orders from Malkins before they made their way to Hogwarts via _floo_.


	3. Hogwarts Seventh Year

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All praises should be addressed to J.K. Rowling. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 03: Hogwarts Seventh Year**

* * *

**September 1, 1998**

Harry yawned as he ushered a first-year muggleborn and his parents into the barrier to the platform housing the Hogwarts Express. That was the 25th muggleborn he helped into the barrier for the past two hours.

This was a boring job but it was assigned to him by Hermione which means that saying no is not an option if he values his health. He was supposed to wait outside the barrier and keep an eye out for muggleborns who were prone to have problems finding the barrier to get into the platform. Hermione would be posting herself on the other side of the barrier to assist them into boarding the train.

Harry wasn't amused since he could easily remember that there weren't any Head Boy or Head Girl posted where he was currently standing to guide him into the barrier. In fact, it was the Weasley Matriarch who fortunately spotted him and showed him how to get into barrier.

Grumbling about the unfairness of it all, Harry looked down at his watch and saw that he only had five minutes before the train was scheduled to leave. He used his height to his advantage to check whether there were more witches or wizards coming. He waited for two more minutes before entering the barrier and onto the train. He met Hermione by the door.

"Harry, how was it?" asked Hermione as she helped an eleven-year old boy find an empty cabin for the journey to Hogwarts. Harry shrugged.

"Wasn't so bad. I counted 25 muggleborns who needed help finding the barrier to the platform. How was it on your end?" asked Harry as he pulled out a Chocolate Frog from an expanded pocket inside his robe, tearing the wrapper and biting its head off. He placed the card back into his pocket before pulling out another frog and held it out to Hermione. "You want some? It's really a good idea spelling the pocket to have an expanded space inside. I wondered why I didn't think of it myself."

Hermione took the offered chocolate and tore off the package before taking a dainty bite. She handed the card to Harry who loved to collect them.

"Because you're lazy, that's why." Hermione said with a laugh before walking off to the Head Boy/Girl's cabin. Harry sprinted a bit to catch up to her.

"Oi! I'm not lazy." Harry defended himself as he held the door open for Hermione to enter. "I just didn't find the need to cast the spell. Besides, I was the first one to master it before you did."

"Fine." said Hermione in defeat. It was true though since Harry was always the one to find practical spells to be used every day while hers were more on borderline rare and rarely used unless in dire circumstances. They contributed equally on dueling spells though. "Do you have the list of Prefects?"

Harry reached into his pocket again and pulled out a piece of parchment while finishing off the rest of the Chocolate Frog in a single bite.

"Right here." said Harry as he read the list on his hand. "Hmmm…quite a lot from our group are in the list. Most of them were in the DA, well except for Draco and Pansy. I guess only a few students decided to leave Hogwarts for good. I guess the war got to them."

Hermione swiped the list from Harry's grip and read some of the names out loud.

"Let me see…I'm only familiar with the Seventh Year Prefects. Hmmm…Parvati and Neville in Gryffindor, Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan for Hufflepuff, Luna and Terry Boot for Ravenclaw, and Draco and Pansy for Slytherin." said Hermione as she ticked down the prefects in their year.

"Nice list. I'm not quite sure about the rest of them though." Harry said dubiously as he heard some of the names.

"I guess this is the reason why Professor McGonagall placed us both as Head Boy and Head Girl to keep them in line. I know Neville, Luna, Terry, and Susan would suit the position well since they performed well in the DA. The others I'm not quite sure." murmured Hermione as she re-assessed the patrol schedule to make sure that the Prefects did their jobs. "Do you think we should stick with the schedule?"

Harry nodded in affirmative.

"Yeah, we should. Besides, we could always change it in the future if there's need." confirmed Harry. "Do you want to call them to a meeting now or later?"

"I guess we should call them now so they'll have time to patrol the cars. I saw a bunch of unruly ones this year so we need the Prefects to keep the peace." replied Hermione as she flicked her wand out of her holster. She pointed towards the open door and sent out her _Otter Patronus_ without bothering with the incantation.

"_All Prefects please proceed to the Head Boy/Head Girl cabin for a Prefect's Meeting. Meeting starts in 5 minutes."_

With a mental command from Hermione, her _Otter Patronus_ flew out of the door down the hallway to the rest of the compartments repeating the announcement as it went until it reached the end of the train where it would dispel.

"Useless spell that." said Harry as he flicked his wand out and started expanding the cabin to give it more breathing room. "I don't know why many witches and wizard find the _expansion charm_ a difficult spell to master. I mean it's quite easy as long you visualize the results properly."

"Aside from the fact that it requires intense concentration and above average magical power to pull off? No, I don't know." Hermione said sarcastically. Harry rolled his eyes at his surrogate sister's witty, yet sarcastic response.

"You know, sis, you're getting to be too sarcastic. If you're not careful, you might scare someone with that mouth of yours." warned Harry as he started pulling out cold Butterbeers, chocolates, cakes, and biscuits before piling them on the plate that Hermione conjured when she saw him bringing out the food.

"I'm not looking for a partner, Harry. If I have one then I'll have one. If I meet him then we shall see." Hermione said with a dismissive wave of her hand telling Harry that the topic was closed. Love was a sensitive topic for her ever since she discovered Ron's betrayal. It was kind of hard to refute when the memory of the event was quite clear.

"If you say so. Now why don't we relax and wait for the Prefects to arrive." Harry suggested as he took a Chocolate Frog from the pile followed closely by Hermione. It would take a few minutes for the new Prefects to arrive so it would be better to relax for a bit.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry found the entire train ride uneventful. The Prefect meeting went without a hitch with Hermione taking the lead. He was surprised, however, when Draco Malfoy was being respectful to Hermione, being a muggleborn and all, though Pansy was giving his surrogate sister the evil eye which he noted just in case.

Once the patrol schedule was handed out, Hermione sent the prefects to do some rounds in circuits to make sure that everyone had their share of the job. Everyone left except for Neville and Luna who wanted to catch up with the latest news.

Most of the trip was spent story telling on what they did after the fall of Voldemort.

Neville was quite easy to figure out since he answered Harry's call in helping out the plants grow during the rebuilding project at Hogwarts. He finally ascended to being the Longbottom Lord when he reached eighteen last summer and his grandmother was busy preparing him for his first ever stint in the Wizengamot when he reaches 19.

Harry was nervous about that since he didn't study the law very well and had no idea what to do when it comes to passing laws and debating on trials.

He made a mental note, however, to consult Albus' portrait later since the aged wizard spent a lot of time in the courtroom so it might be possible to get some lessons out of the old coot.

Luna was…well…Luna. She didn't change much even after her experience in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor and the battle at Hogwarts though Harry could see that she was eyeing Draco with a little bit of animosity which made the blonde a bit nervous. Harry noted that might need to rein in the Lovegood heir to make sure that no trouble happened while he and Hermione's were on watch.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry and Hermione hanged around a bit when the students disembarked at Hogsmeade Station. They supervised the older students onto the thestral-drawn carriage though quite a lot of them could now see the skeleton-like creatures due to their brief stint with death during the battle at Hogwarts.

Thankfully the first years were spared from the experience so they remained oblivious to the invisible creatures thinking that the carriages moved because of magic.

Since it was raining, Harry followed the first years as they boarded the boats and judiciously cast _warming charms_ on all of them to make sure they don't catch a cold before they got to the Sorting Feast, though he was quite sure that they'll survive since the mother hen of the hospital wing was on the case.

After spelling the first years and a brief greeting to Hagrid, Harry walked over to a waiting carriage where Hermione was waiting for him. He scratched one of the thestrals before boarding earning him a happy sound from the creature. The trip to the castle was silent between the two of them as they pondered their own thoughts for the year.

It had been a month since Harry and Hermione's Seventh Year started in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry, however, was especially happy since it lacked the usual gut feeling that always meant trouble for him. For once, he would enjoy schooling without the worry of Dark Wizards and trouble getting in the way.

The duo breezed through the lessons thanks to their study sessions during the summer. Charms and Transfigurations were easy as pie and McGonagall was proud of her two favorites since they were performing more than as expected. They even cast their spells nonverbally much to the awe of their peers. Flitwick just gave them commendation on their mastery of charms as they performed them with ease.

Despite the ease of classes, Harry and Hermione took advantage of the lecture since the professors were more inclined to give information that was not found in books.

Also, the duo had their own favorites to compliment their chosen field of specialization in magic.

Hermione was very attentive during Arithmancy class since Professor Vector was giving out advanced calculations and formulas that were commonly used by Spell Creators in the crafting of spells. Hermione was eating through dozens of parchments per class as her quill went into overdrive in taking down notes mostly verbatim as the teacher rambled on her lecture.

Harry, on the other hand, found his niche in Ancient Runes when Professor Babbling taught them the importance of runes in enchanting objects for various purposes, mainly wards. Harry took plenty of notes and discovered runes that he didn't find in any books.

It was also during this time that Harry decided to learn Healing being a trouble-magnet and all. Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey was more than happy to give him much-needed instructions, as well as some books that he could study on his own time. He might not become a great healer like the mother hen of the hospital wing but he would be able to apply basic first aid and them some if the situation demands it.

Aside from lessons and self-study sessions, Harry and Hermione implemented a study group with those who joined the DA back in Fifth Year. Instead of teaching them spells, Harry and Hermione were more focused in helping them with more advanced theories in their current lessons. It helped tremendously for those who were weak on theories and treatises, like Neville.

Patrolling was also quite boring and proved to be a no-challenge for both Harry and Hermione. Instead of walking around to look for out-of-bounds students, they merely stayed in Gryffindor's Quarters with the Marauder's Map floating around as they busy themselves with their own studies. If they found a student out of bounds then one of them would just pop over there and usher them back to their common rooms after issuing point deductions and detentions.

* * *

**September 28, 1998 (Monday)**

Since Harry was bored from staying in Gryffindor's Quarters during a patrol schedule so he opted to walk around and do it the old-fashioned way. Besides, he needed a breath of fresh air from all the studying Hermione was putting him through.

He was currently patrolling the third floor corridor where Fluffy used to live during his first year when he felt magic building up behind him. Thanks to the constant dueling using nothing but non-verbal spells, he could now distinctly feel magic being used especially if it was a spell.

Acting out of instinct, he brought out his wand and cast a non-verbal shield which caught the spell and reflected it back to the caster who was hidden in the shadows.

Not wasting any time, Harry immediately fired of a _Lumos Solem_ which covered the entire walkway in something akin to sunlight which allowed Harry to see a figure running away from him. Not wanting to let the attacker get away, he pointed his wand at the figure's retreating back and cast a _summoning_ _charm_, which practically dragged the fleeing student towards him. When the attacker neared, Harry fired a spell chain he learned from Flitwick consisting of _a stunner, petrificus totalus_, and a _conjuration_ binding the person in thick ropes stopping any hopes of escape.

Harry peered down at his attacker and was surprised as to who it was. He lifted the _stunner_ with an _Enervate _before addressing his would-be killer.

"Hello, Draco, fancy meeting you here at this time of night." Harry said cheerfully at the downed Malfoy heir. "If I remember your schedule correctly, your patrol should be tomorrow."

"Release me, Potter, or you'll get what's coming to you." growled Draco as he tried to undo the petrification though he would not be having any luck on that since Harry put quite a bit of power into the spell along with the conjuration.

"Temper, temper, Draco." said Harry with a smile before his face turned into a cold mask. "I really don't like it when people try to murder me in the back. I thought you had learned your lesson by now, Malfoy. I'm not someone to be crossed…not anymore."

Draco shivered at the cold tone in Potter's voice. If he didn't know any better, the Gryffindor Potter that he loved to taunt a few years back was gone and replaced by a powerful, cold wizard looming over him.

"Now, Malfoy, tell me why you're trying to kill me. I thought your parents already withdrew themselves from the war." asked Harry wanting to get an answer out of the blonde without having to resort to using a potion he was currently carrying in his pocket, just in case.

"You're not getting anything from me, Potter." Draco said with a growl.

"Fine fine. Be that way. I guess we have to do this the hard way." Harry said with a sigh before sending out a _Patronus_ to Hermione telling her to meet him outside the Room of Requirements in 10 minutes.

When _Prongs_ disappeared around the corner, Harry levitated Draco and had him float beside him as he made his way to the seventh floor. He did, however, pause for a bit to stun the blonde when he started to become too noisy for him to tolerate.

Harry arrived in the seventh floor with Draco in tow and saw Hermione leaning beside the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Hermione eyed the floating blonde beside his surrogate brother.

"What happened to him?" she asked curiously. She wasn't worried since she knew Harry could take care of himself. She never did win any of their duels, well except for one which she considered a fluke.

"He attacked me while I was patrolling the third floor corridor. He was trying to flee when I summoned, stunned, petrified, and bound him. I enervated him and asked him why he tried to off me but he wouldn't talk so I want to get the truth out of him in total privacy." explained Harry then he remembered something. "Oh, I also stunned him again when he started yapping on the way up here."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the casual way Harry was brushing off an attempted murder.

"Well, let me prepare the room and let's interrogate him." offered Hermione before walking past the entrance three times to reveal a plain wooden door. She opened it to reveal a replica of their living room in Gryffindor's Quarters.

Harry floated Draco over to the couch and fished out a vial of _Veritaserum_ he had in his robe pocket. He knew it was illegal to use but, according to the law, he had plenty of rights since he was the subject of a crime. Besides, what others didn't know won't hurt him.

He removed the stopper with a casual wave of his hand and flicked it over at Draco which forced the blonde to tilt his head up and opened his mouth. Harry placed three drops of the potion on the blonde's tongue and waited for a few seconds before enervating him. He didn't waste time asking questions.

"What you're full name?" asked Harry.

"Draco Ignacius Malfoy." Draco answered in monotone.

"Why did you try to murder me in the back?"

"I was following my father's orders to kill the current Lord Black. I was supposed to inherit the title but that stupid Gryffindor traitor ruined it by naming you as his heir in his Will. Father planned out for you to die by my hands since I am the next in line to inherit the Black Family Lordship."

"Where is Lucius now?"

"Father is currently hiding in France in one of the Malfoy safe houses with my mother."

"Why is Lucius so adamant in getting access to the Black Family assets?"

"My father wanted to use my access to the Black Family Vault and use the money there to pay off our debts to the goblins."

Getting everything he needed from the blonde, Harry stunned him and turned to Hermione who had a calculating look on her face.

"That was interesting." said Harry before noticing the look on his sister's face. "What do you have in that sadistic mind of yours?"

"Well, why don't we use their own game against them? Since Lucius is currently in debt from the goblins then why don't you buy his debts and call it due." explained Hermione with a vicious grin on her face.

Harry knew that she never forgave any of the Death Eaters since she blamed them for the death of her parents. To everyone, Hermione was a normal studious girl. But to Death Eaters, she was a vindictive woman hell-bent on revenge.

"Good idea." Harry agreed, already forming a plan to get in touch with Spleensmash this weekend. "Now let's tie up some lose ends and call it a night."

Harry pointed his wand at Draco and stunned him. Levitating him again, Harry made his way back to the third floor where he assumed Draco was hiding before he tried to kill him. He removed the petrification and bindings before enervating the blonde ponce.

Draco who woke up from his stunned state and saw Harry standing over him. He was about to reach for his wand when he heard one word before blessed darkness engulfed him.

"_**Obliviate"**_

* * *

**October 3, 1998 (Saturday)**

Harry entered Gringotts and politely asked a teller to bring him to Spleensmash. He was confused when the teller just looked at him in awe and bowed deeply before guiding him to his account manager's office. The teller knocked on the door and entered revealing Spleensmash busy looking over some documents piled high on his table.

"Spleensmash, Lord Potter-Black is here to see you." said the teller before giving Harry another bow and left the room.

Harry looked at the teller's back in confusion before entering the room. He gave a small bow to the goblin before sitting himself on the available chair.

"Good morning, Spleensmash, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time." said Harry as he eyed the table overflowing with parchment.

"Good morning to you too, Lord Potter." said Spleensmash with a sheepish look on his face as he attempted to straighten the number of papers on his desk. "You're not disturbing me and I have all the time in the world to accommodate any of your requests."

Harry smiled at the goblin.

"Thank you, Spleensmash." said Harry with a smile on his face. "What are all these anyway?"

Spleensmash sighed.

"Ever since you placed me in charge of the Black Vaults, I had to check all the transactions pertaining to the account." explained the goblin before waving a clawed hand over to the documents on his desk. "These are all contracts from wizarding families that owed the House of Black money over the years. Considering that the Black Family was frozen due to the incarceration of the previous Lord Black, all these papers were left almost forgotten when the wizard who handled these documents died. I'm going over them to see if I can make some sense out of them and retrieve the money owed to you."

Harry raised an eyebrow while looking at the documents in interest.

"You mean to tell me that some wizarding families borrowed money from the Blacks without bothering to pay for it?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Indeed." Spleensmash said sourly. "These documents date back to the 1800s without anyone from the Black Family calling in the debts. If we call on it now then you can be sure to increase the size of your holdings by a third due to the interests that piled up on these contracts."

"Oh. Not that I need more money but it's bad for business to let things stay as they are." mused Harry as he scratched his chin in thought. "Which families owed the Blacks?"

Spleensmash pulled out a parchment from the pile on his table.

"Let me see, we have here a loan from the Malfoys, Notts, Parkinsons, Lestrange, Crouch, Fudge, and some other families that are no longer alive though they do still have a vault with us." admitted the goblin.

"Wait a families you mentioned are quite rich since the Lestrange Vault alone held tens of millions of assets, though you can consider their debt paid since I already own the vault as it is. The rest, however, should be as rich as the Lestrange so how come they never paid?"

"The answer to that is simple, Lord Potter, they are too lazy to pay and do not want to part with their own wealth. With the Black Family dying, they just played a wait-and-see game. If they are asked to pay the debt then they will do so. If not then they'll let it go. If the Black Family dies out then their debts are automatically null and void. As you can see, it is a win-win situation for them.

"Interesting. Speaking of debts, I have an idea I need to consult you with and hope you can give me a sound advice if whether I should push for it or not."

At the goblin's nod, Harry proceeded to explain how Draco Malfoy tried to murder him, the questioning under _Veritaserum_, and the revelation of the plan to off him so Malfoy Sr. would have access to the Black Family vault to pay off his debts.

"As you can see, Spleensmash, I discovered from Draco that the Malfoy owed the goblins some money. I just want to know the extent of it, buy it out, and call in the debt due. If they don't pay then we just get the money out of the Malfoy vaults." explained Harry with a vicious grin on his face which was mimicked immediately by Spleensmash.

The goblin called for a teller and asked for the contract regarding the Malfoy family's loan from Gringotts. It was five minutes later that the teller returned with a rolled up parchment. Spleensmash took it and read the contents.

"Let me see, according to this document, the loan was made during the first war by Lucius Malfoy's grandfather, the then patriarch of the family. The amount he loaned from the goblins totaled to 10,000,000 galleons with a 10% interest per month to be paid in full. There is no specific due date mentioned but there is a stipulation that any witch or wizard may purchase the debt though the Malfoy would still owe Gringotts the interest.

"So let me get this straight. If I buy the debt, I'll be paying 10,000,000 galleons. Gringotts would be getting the accumulated interest. Is that correct?" asked Harry in confirmation, a plan already forming in his mind. "Why do I get the feeling that there is a loophole there somewhere placed by the goblins."

Spleensmash nodded and grinned.

"I'm not supposed to say it to anyone, Lord Potter, but considering your kindness and equality towards the goblin race, I'll tell you the loophole in the stipulation. A Treaty when the goblin race was defeated during the last Goblin-Wizard War stated that a witch or wizard is allowed to borrow money from the goblin with the usual interest rate. However, no due date is provided so they could just opt for a wait-and-see situation in regards to their loan. Since this would be disastrous to the goblin nation, High King Ragnok added the stipulation on the Treaty that a witch or wizard could pay for it with the debt being transferred to that witch or wizard."

He was interrupted from his explanation when a goblin teller entered the office and handed Spleensmash a letter, who took it and read the content. An awed look crossed his face before being replaced by a vicious grin. Harry just looked at him in confusion.

"Something I should know about, Spleensmash?" asked Harry in curiosity.

"Indeed. High King Ragnok penned this letter to inform me to ask you if you would be willing to do a little bit of brokerage for us."

"How so?" asked Harry.

"Simple, since we could not actively ask for these debts to be paid in full due to the Treaty, His Majesty offers you to pay for these debts and have you call them in via Gringotts . Apart from the principal amount you will be paying returned to you, High King Ragnok is willing to part with half of the total interests as fee for this…uhh…service.

Harry was shocked at the offer. Not only would this impoverish some of the Dark Families that sided with Voldemort during the war, it also meant more money for him. But he needed to know HOW much it would cost him since he wasn't sure that the Potter and Black vaults had enough to pay for ALL the debts owed to the Goblin Nation.

"How much are we talking about here, Spleensmash? The idea is a good one and I would be more than happy to help the goblins out. However, I want to make sure that it won't drain the Potter and Black vaults." said Harry.

"Give me a week, Lord Potter, to make a statement for you to peruse regarding this venture. I think it would be safe to assume that we will be including the Malfoy Family debts as well. I think you only want to target those who supported Voldemort in some way or the other?" asked Spleensmash . Harry nodded in earnest.

"If that is the case then I will send you a letter detailing the amount in a week, Lord Potter.

Harry nodded and stood up from his chair before offering a hand to Spleensmash who took it with a shake.

"I expect your letter then, Spleensmash. I think this is a start of a beautiful friendship between my family and the goblin nation." Harry said this with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Spleensmash didn't say anything but the grin on his face spelled doom for those who allied themselves with Voldemort during the war.

* * *

**October 15, 1998 (Thursday)**

Harry and Hermione were pouring over the letter from Spleensmash detailing the total amount that would be used from the Potter and Black Vaults in order to pay for the debts before calling it full. The goblin helpfully provided a total reimbursement along with his fee.

According to the 3-page statement, the Potter Vault contained 370,000,000 galleons while the Black Vault topped that with 420,000,000. Harry's co-ownership with the Hogwarts Fund was left alone but the amount in the vault totaled to 15,300,000 galleons which was half its original size since it was used to rebuild Hogwarts.

The total amount that Harry needed to pay was 50,000,000 which could easily be paid by the Potter Vault alone. The interest, however, was a whopping 220,400,000 considering that they had been accumulating for a very long time. It would have been less if the interest was annual but those who took a loan from the goblins didn't read the fine print that the interest was monthly. Considering that they didn't care to pay some of the principal amount…well, let's just say that it would eventually grow if left unattended.

Assured by the vicious grin on Hermione's face, Harry immediately penned an approval to deduct the necessary amount from the Potter Vault and to keep him posted on the matter. He sent Fawkes to the goblin with the letter as they let their laughter echo throughout Gryffindor's Quarters.

* * *

**December 10, 1998 (Thursday)**

Harry was reading the Black Family Ledger after sending off a letter to Arthur Weasley regarding the patriarchs discovery of the plot concerning the Man-Who-Conquered by his two youngest. Harry left the punishment of the two to their father but he adamantly told the man he considered a father that he wouldn't be coming to the Burrow anytime soon with the two there. It pained his heart to do so but the betrayal of the two people he cherished had struck a chord in Harry's heart.

His current project was to look for a home for him and Hermione since he didn't think that staying forever in Hogwarts was a good idea though the possibility appealed to him.

After checking the Potter Family Ledger, he discovered that the Potters only had two properties the Potter Manor and Potter Cottage with both of them not fit for habitation. Land was available to put up a new home but Harry didn't want to set up shop in the British Isles due to his status. For him, it would be like a giant cage where people would be gawking at him. He didn't know how Albus Dumbledore survived the fame but the old coot certainly did.

Since the Potter holdings were out of the question, his next hope was the Blacks. According to the records, the Blacks owned many lands outside of Britain, a majority of which was in America where they owned a sizable investment, specifically on the West Coast.

Like the Potters, the Blacks tend to stay in the British Isle when it came to family homes. However, there were plenty of lands available for Harry to put up a new one. However, he wasn't familiar with the place so he needed to consult an expert.

"Mione, are you familiar with Washington?" asked Harry over his shoulder towards Hermione who was sitting on the sofa reading a book on Animagus. Like Harry, she wanted to know how it's done until they both deemed themselves ready to find out if they had an animal form to turn into. Their target date was after graduation so they definitely needed their own place for added privacy.

"Which one? The State or the Capitol?" asked Hermione not looking up from her book.

Harry went back to the ledger to get an exact location.

"Let me see…Forks and La Push." confirmed Harry after reading the entry.

Hermione looked up from her book and thought a moment before answering.

"Those two are located on the West Coast in the Washington State. Forks and La Push are just a few hours from each other though there is a difference when it comes to the people living there." explained Hermione as she tried to recall all the information she got from her studies in Geography while she was still in grade school.

"What's the difference?" Harry asked as he walked over to the center of the living room and plopped down on the sofa opposite of his surrogate sister.

"Forks is the town there where most the people lives. La Push, however, is a reserve to the protection of a Native American tribe called the Quilleutes. The weather is similar to England, meaning that it's mostly raining there but the surrounding area is mostly covered in forests. My parents and I visited Forks once since we have a family living there, the Swans. Why the interest in Washington, Harry?

"Well, I checked out the Potter Holdings and discovered that the two major homes belonging to my family are no longer available to us to live in. I consulted the Black Family Ledger and found out that they owned plenty of lands in both Forks and La Push. I was thinking of picking one out for us to put up a home. I think you agree with me that England is no longer an option for a home for us, right?" asked Harry with a curious look on his face.

Hermione nodded in agreement. Ever since her parents died and the discovery of the plot against Harry from the two youngest Weasleys, she no longer considered England her home. Heck, staying in England meant that they would be within striking distance of anyone who had an agenda, especially towards Harry. If they wanted to enjoy life after Hogwarts then it's the perfect time to get out of the British Isles and settle down. She didn't care where as long as Harry was with her. He was her lifeline now and considered him as family. No one was going to hurt her family ever again if she had anything to say about it.

"Good idea. I don't think England would be a perfect place for us. Since you already made up your mind as to where we would be putting up a home, the question is where among the two options would you like? The more civilized Forks or the more forested area of La Push?" asked Hermione, wanting to leave the decision to her surrogate brother since anywhere he would be staying was home for her.

"Hmmm…I think La Push is the perfect place for us. Since we would be actively using magic then we needed a place where we won't be observed by the muggles. There is a plot of land owned by the Blacks in La Push that would be perfect for us. It is a mile away from any major road and surrounded by forests. The nearest settlement is near First Beach." said Harry as he handed the ledger over to his sister. "There's a map there showing us the exact location with coordinates that we can use to _apparate_ there to check out the place."

"I don't think we are capable of _apparating_ from here to Washington, Harry." Hermione said as she perused the map on the ledger. "I think we should _portkey_ there first to scope the place out. Did you by any chance…?"

Harry rolled his eyes at her sister's question.

"Yes, Mione, I know how to make a _portkey_ by coordinates. I already have a license for it, remember?" Harry said in a condescending tone which caused Hermione to stick her tongue out at him. "Very mature."

"Oh hush, Harry." chided Hermione as she summoned a piece of parchment and started writing on it. "If we are going to be moving out of Britain then we need to contact the Ministry of Magic in America to make sure we won't be booted out for being illegal immigrants. I've read it in a book that magical governments in different countries had rules about that."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"I know. I'm planning to ask Kingsley to help us out. If he won't then we could always send a petition to the Magical Government there as a last ditch effort to get out of Britain. I'm thinking of setting up a dual citizenship for us. What do you think?"

"Let's go with that idea. I don't think Kingsley would begrudge us this request since you practically ended the war for Magical Britain. If that won't work then we could send the petition ourselves. The earlier we do it the better. Do you have any idea how we're going to do that?"

"I was planning to ask Gringotts if they could act as mediators for us since they have a branch in every magical enclave around the world. I'm sure they know how to get in touch with the magical government there."

Hermione nodded in agreement then a thought hit her.

"Any idea on who you want to design our new home?" asked Hermione. She was never that good in interior design or architecture though she planned to remedy that in the future if the mood strikes her fancy.

Harry shook his head and summoned a parchment from his study table to start penning a letter to Spleensmash using a spare quill on the table commonly used by the both of them.

"No idea. I think let's leave it at the hands of goblins. From what I can tell, they do good job if the price is right." Harry suggested to Hermione who simply nodded in agreement.

Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the night compiling notes, as well as some questions they want answered about La Push. It was way after midnight that both of them decided to call it a night and headed straight for bed to sleep, dreaming about starting a new life outside Britain free of responsibilities.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was three days later that Harry received a letter from Spleensmash concerning their request in moving outside Britain. After showing Hermione the letter, which was filled with good news for them, they settled down to compile whatever data they had.

For starters, High King Ragnok would be more than happy to accommodate their request for an application to a dual citizenship. However, the goblin king suggested that they change their names in the document that would serve as their American counterparts. This would make it easy for them to hide any transaction to avoid potential discovery from threats coming out of Britain.

Second, the news of the debts brought out a huge grin from Harry and a particularly vindictive one from Hermione. The debts were all paid leaving the dark families with a few thousand galleons left in their own vaults. Of course, this was met with derision from the concerned families but they couldn't do anything about it since the contract that Harry held regarding their debts was ironclad.

Fortunately, Minister Shacklebolt turned a blind eye to their petition to get the contract voided and simply sat behind his desk with a huge smile on his face. Since these were Voldemort supporters, Kingsley was vindictive in ignoring their cries for help since this would practically stop them from funding another Dark Lord from terrorizing England. One Voldemort was enough, thank you very much.

Third, the property in La Push was miles away from civilization though there was a magical enclave in Seattle that was an _apparition_ or a _portkey_ away if there's need for supplies and access to the bank.

Fourth, Spleensmash, with blessings from Ragnok, suggested that Harry transfer one of the vaults he controlled to America that would serve as their primary source of funds. International transaction was expensive and totally unethical since they planned to settle down outside British soils. Harry and Hermione decided to leave the Potter Vault in England under the supervision of Spleensmash and the Black Vault being transferred to a Gringotts Branch in Seattle. Harry made a mental note to ask the goblin if he could recommend a teller that would handle the sizable account in America since they trusted goblins too much to let go of their services.

Fifth, in terms of the questions about magical denizens in La Push, Spleensmash told them that the wild magic of American made sure that only a few magical creatures were able to live in the continent. However, there were rumors of vampires and werewolves in Washington but was considered a minor detail by Harry and Hermione since they were of the muggle variety and could be easily dispatched if need be. They would leave them alone since Harry and Hermione had no fight against them but if they attack then they would be met with everything in their magical salvo.

Last, but certainly not the least, Spleensmash sent Harry a catalogue regarding Gringott's construction services. For a price, the goblins could easily put up a large home for three years and a small home for one.

Harry and Hermione immediately listed down what they wanted their new home to have, incidentally involving lots of secrets rooms for certain magical practices. They were adamant in separating muggle and magical since it was possible that they would be befriending the locals and have them around once in a while to keep them company.

Harry immediately penned a letter to Spleensmash after a prompt from Hermione to send them a draft of the designs for their new home once it was done after they go over the details the duo wanted their new home to have. They could wait for it to finish by traveling around the world and finally settling down in their new home in La Push once it was done.

Both didn't notice Albus Dumbledore giving the two of them a smile before exiting the portrait towards the Headmistress' office.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"A moment of your time, Minerva." said Albus, startling the Headmistress from her paperwork duty.

"Of course, Albus." agreed McGonagall with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I want you to pen a letter for me.

"A letter, Albus? To who?"

Albus smiled down at his long-time friend.

"Nicholas Flamel."

* * *

**May 29, 1999 (Saturday)**

Harry was on his way to the Headmistress' office with Hermione after getting a summons from her via house elf.

Final exams ended yesterday and the duo was quite confident that they aced everything with some extra credits thrown in. They spent the day relaxing outside by the lake but have to leave after getting a letter from McGonagall summoning them to her office.

They didn't have to give the password to the gargoyle since it immediately stepped aside to grant them entry. They made their way up and knocked on the door. Harry opened the door and made their way when they got an 'Enter' from the other side after his knock.

Headmistress McGonagall was behind her desk with two people seated in front of her. Harry and Hermione just looked at the three people in the room with confusion, trying to come up with an idea why there were called.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, thank you for answering my summons. I have a two people here that I would like you to meet." said McGonagall, giving the two of them a smile.

The old man who looked so similar to Dumbledore except for the brown eyes and the aristocratic nose stood up from his chair followed by the beautiful aged witch. The old man walked towards the duo and held out a hand to Harry.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Potter. My name is Nicholas Flamel and this is my charming wife, Perenelle." said the now-named Nicholas Flamel with a smile.

Harry and Hermione were stunned. The two people in front of them were the famous Flamel couple, Nicholas Flamel the inventor of the Philosopher's Stone and his wife, Perenelle Flamel, a well-known enchantress.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." said Harry while shaking his hand which was later followed by Hermione doing the same. The two of them were in a daze at being introduced to two of the most powerful witches and wizards in the world.

"Now, I think both of you are wondering why you're here, correct?" asked Nicholas. He got a slow nod from Harry and Hermione. "It is simple really. My dear friend, Albus, sent us a letter a couple of months ago with a proposal. Me and my wife thought about it and found it to be a good idea."

"Regarding what, sir?" asked Harry, totally confused about the whole thing. Besides, weren't they supposed to be dead considering that the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed when he was in first year?

"Let me explain the situation to the both of you before I'll tell you the reason why you were called here." said Nicholas as he wandlessly conjured two more chairs. This feat of magic did not escape the duo's notice and could only stare at the two legends in front of them in awe. After they were seated, Nicholas continued.

"When the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed, willingly I might add since the presence of such powerful artifact wouldn't be a good idea considering who was after it at that time, my wife, Perenelle, and I decided to set our affairs in order before passing on to the Next Great Adventure. We have enough Elixir in our possession to give us 12 more years in life. Albus' letter reached us a couple of months ago offering us a proposition that if we would accept, would be of great help to the both of you."

"What proposition would this be, sir?" asked Hermione, now very curious as to where this was going.

"Apprenticeship." said Nicholas causing Harry and Hermione to stare at him in shock. "I will take Mr. Potter as an apprentice and teach him the lost Art of Alchemy; while you Ms. Granger would be taking Enchanting from my wife, Perenelle. If we leave this world then the knowledge we gained after centuries of study would be lost to the winds of time. We didn't want that to happen. With the two of you under our tutelage, we are sure that our knowledge would be put to good use."

Harry and Hermione were speechless from the offer. A chance to study from a renowned Alchemist and Enchantress was too good to pass up.

"However, you will not only be learning Alchemy and Enchating only. These two specialized fields of magic require a thorough grounding in the core subject. Such is the case, both of you will be trained in Advanced Potions, Wandless Magic, Ritual Magic, Healing, and of course, Charms and Transfiguration with some Runes and Arithmancy on the side. The three years we will be spending together will be the extent off your apprenticeship. We already got your grades from the Headmistress and what we saw astounded us. Not only the both of you are ahead of your peers, your magical knowledge and control surpassed most adults in the world. With this in mind, we have accepted Albus' proposal and would want the both of you to be our apprentices."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other with excitement in their eyes. Being given the chance to learn from an Alchemist and an Enchantress was too good to pass up. After a nod of agreement, the duo turned back to the waiting couple and blurted out two words that closed the entire deal.

"We accept!"


	4. Apprenticeship

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight. I'm just using the characters to come up with a story of my own. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 04: Apprenticeship**

* * *

**1999-2000**

After the graduation ceremony, it was a tearful goodbye between some of their friends and a private talk between the duo and Headmistress McGonagall. Of course, being the concerned faculty that she is, the Headmistress asked Harry and Hermione about their plans once they leave the school.

Harry told her about their plans to settle down in La Push in the future. In most cases, they would be going there either on 2005 or 2006. They would be spending their first three to four years out of Hogwarts with the Flamels to learn whatever they could under their tutelage.

Once that was done, Harry and Hermione would be touring the world, simply enjoying life and checking out different magical enclaves to better themselves. Hermione told McGonagall that it would be a lifetime pursuit for both Harry and her to seek knowledge wherever and whatever they may be since they found the calling to their liking.

Since they lacked a better name for it, Harry jokingly called themselves as Battle Scholars since they were better than any Aurors in the field. If people thought that there were just bookworms, then they would be in for a rude awakening.

McGonagall couldn't resist opening up the idea for Harry and Hermione to become part of the faculty at Hogwarts but the duo declined since they couldn't see themselves as professors despite their prowess in that area, though the duo promised her that they would be always ready to help if she so needed. All she needed to do was to send them a letter and they would come immediately considering Fawkes could flame travel them easily to and from the school.

After a tearful farewell, Harry and Hermione activated their portkeys which took them to the_ Fidelius-protected_ house of the Flamels.

Harry and Hermione's first year of study as apprentices was dedicated to advancing themselves in the core subjects to the point of mastery, as well as getting an introductory course in Wandless Magic.

Nicholas Flamel told them that the field they were going into, which was Alchemy for Harry and Enchanting for Hermione, required them to be free from the use of wands since they needed to master their control over their magic. He explained that wands were necessary for witches and wizard to perform magic since they didn't have complete control over their individual cores.

Wandless Magic was simply the mastery of one's magical core that they could manipulate it at will, similar to that of a wand in the hands of a wizard or a witch. Nicholas further stressed that Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort had a form of control over their magic that they could do minor feats of magic without the use of a wand. Nicholas aimed for them to use ANY magic without a wand.

Harry and Hermione were excited over that idea and couldn't wait but start learning.

The aged Alchemist briefed them in their respective specialization after being asked by Hermione as to why they wouldn't need a wand for them.

The lost Art of Alchemy was the blending of different materials using a circle of power made from runes to create an object. One of the reason why there were so few in learning Alchemy was the requirement to have an excellent knowledge in Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Runes. These four made up Alchemy as a whole.

Enchanting wasn't a lost art but those who could enchant were minor feats compared to a full Enchanter or Enchantress. They could manipulate magic without the need of runes by simply embedding it into an object, letting their magic form the required instructions as to how the enchantment was supposed to work.

Unlike wizards and witches, Enchanters and Enchantress could make their work permanent. In most cases, an Enchanter or Enchantress needed to be a master in both Charms and Arithmancy, the latter of which was necessary for her since she would be dealing in spells unlike Harry who would be concentrating on material objects.

Potion was necessary for Harry since he would be expected to blend different magical and non-magical ingredients. It was impossible to synthesize anything if one doesn't know the properties of an object and how it would react to another. At minimum, a student of Alchemy needed to be at Potion Master Level before they could think of dabbling in it.

Transfiguration was needed since changing one object to another requires a thorough understanding on how magic could be used to start the change. However, the limitation of Alchemy was the inability to create life. The only thing possible with Alchemy that was similar to it is to create a golem that follows instructions and nothing else.

When Harry inquired about Non-Living-To-Living Transfiguration, Nicholas told him that a chair turned into a cat was simply a chair imbued by magic to turn into a cat. There is no life there but magic giving the chair the characteristics and mannerism of a cat until the magic fueling the transfiguration lasts. There was no way for an Alchemist to actually create life. They could only mimic it.

Charm was a must for any Alchemist since mastery of this field allows the witch or wizard to have full control over their magic. They wouldn't need to resort to spells and incantation to produce an effect. Once properly mastered, they could replicate any spell with a single thought without the need of a wand.

Nicholas stressed this out loud for Hermione since she needed to be more than the level of a Charms Mistress to pull of Enchanting. She needed to be deeply connected to her magical core and Perenelle could guide her how to do just that.

Runes were necessary for the creation of a Circle of Power. Nicholas likened it to a computer program. Runes served as the codes for the program to work. The Alchemist was the conduit of the magic to power the runes to initiate the program a rune set was supposed to do.

Aside from runes, proper calculation was necessary in order to create the correct diagram to produce certain results. Nicholas assured Harry that he would be given access to ALL diagrams he created for different Alchemical projects – even the creation of the Philosopher's Stone which was considered as a step to gain mastery in the subject. Harry needed to be good at Arithmancy to create his own diagram since he needed to be exact for it to properly work and avoid accidents.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The first year of study under the tutelage of the Flamels was an important developmental stage for both Harry and Hermione. Since they weren't taught Alchemy or Enchanting as of yet, they concentrated on the core subjects to reach the level of Masters in the field. They could take their masteries at the end of the year if they so wished IF they passed the standards of their respective masters.

The duo had access to the many books the Flamels had in their expanded library which made things a whole lot easier for them. What made things simpler was for Harry and Hermione to share notes with each other to speed up the learning process. If Harry found a specific subject easy or understood the concept faster then he would teach it to Hermione until she got it instead of just letting her flounder on her own. Hermione also did the same.

In most cases, Harry instructed Hermione on Transfiguration, Potions, and Runes since he found the subject easy; while Hermione helped her brother in Arithmancy and Charms.

The Flamels approved of this unique method of study since it made for a much faster progress. If the two kept going at this pace then they could easily grab their masteries before their first year was up.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The lessons on Wandless Magic started with meditation.

Unlike the meditation technique used to enter one's mindscape common to all _Occlumencers_, the requirement needed for Wandless Magic was to delve deeper into one's subconscious mind to find their magical core.

Nicholas stressed that only a few witches and wizards were able to get a glimpse of their magical core, much less use it; while the majority simply used magic without bothering to find out where it came from.

Once the core was found, Harry and Hermione was expected to create magical channels for their magic to flow, making sure that magic circulates all over their bodies. This was one of the reasons why wand magic was so easy to use. The core of a wand serves as a conduit directly to a wizards or a witches' magical core. They didn't need to make channels like what the duo was doing since the wand was doing it for them.

To Perenelle, using a wand was a lazy way to do it though she admitted that she started out in magic with one much to the duo's amusement.

Wandless Magic requires the practitioner to control their magical core and familiarize themselves with it. Once that level was achieved, the witch or wizard needed to slowly create a thread connected to the core to various parts of their body. Nicholas provided them with a diagram commonly used by practitioners of Acupuncture to make it easier for them to create these channels.

Harry and Hermione were able to create their channels in the fifth month (November 1999) of their stay with the Flamels. Once that was done, they were ordered to do all the spells without a wand until they could do so without having to visualize the incantation and wand movements.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry and Hermione discovered that doing spells wandlessly was taxing on their magical cores. In other words, they would get tired easily.

Nicholas explained to the duo that the magical core in the wand acts as a buffer by amplifying a tiny amount of a wizards or witches' magic to create the spell. Wandless magic didn't have such buffer.

The only positive side-effect to this was the continuous growth of their magical core. Nicholas told them that keeping their cores drained after using so many spells wandlessly would force it to grow until such time that a high-level spell wouldn't even make a dent on their reserves.

When Harry asked when this would happen. Nicholas just gave him a smirk and told him that it would happen when it happens. Of course, this answer caused the Man-Who-Conquered's mood to sour for the whole day much to Hermione's amusement.

It was during their fourth month (April 2000) of doing spells wandlessly that Harry and Hermione realized that they were no longer getting tired. To compare, when Harry tried the _Patronus Charm_ wandlessly, he almost collapsed in exhaustion. Now, he could call _Prongs_ and sustain the _Patronus_ for hours without tiring.

When Harry and Hermione tested themselves on how long they would last, the duo found out that Harry had more reserves than Hermione, being that Harry's _Prong_ lasted a whole ten hours compared to Hermione's otter which dispelled after five hours of being active.

The duo also noticed that the more they practiced with Wandless Magic, the more control they would have over their magical core. Perenelle explained it to them that it was similar to _muscle memory_, though in this case, she called it _magical memory_ much to the duo's amusement and her annoyance. The more wandless magic they used, the more their magical core would get used to it. To put it simply, mastery of Wandless Magic was when their core reached the point that it would immediately react to their owner's thoughts and bring out the desired results at will.

-x-x-x-x-x-

December 2000 marked the best month in Harry and Hermione's life. After being tested by Nicholas and Perenelle, both decided that the duo were ready for their masteries.

Since they were British Citizens, Harry and Hermione went to the Ministry of Magic in England to file their respective results in getting a Master's Certificate. Thanks to the glowing reports of the Flamels, Harry and Hermione were rewarded with their own certificates.

Harry could now add Potions Master, Transfigurations Master, and Rune Master in his resume. Hermione became a Charms Mistress and Master Arithmancer.

* * *

**2001-2002**

After being awarded their own sets of Masteries, Harry and Hermione started their actual apprenticeship with Nicholas and Perenelle.

Harry immediately started his lessons in Alchemy under the strict guidance of Nicholas Flamel.

His first order of study was to identify magical and muggle ingredients to be used in Alchemy. Since he was already well-versed in magical ingredients thanks to his study in Potions, Harry poured over Nicholas' various notes on Chemistry. It took him five months of intense study to be able to recite their properties immediately thanks to the pop quizzes that the aged Alchemist would spring on him from time to time.

Next, Harry started studying and memorizing the diagrams Nicholas created. The Master Alchemist instructed Harry on how each diagrams were created and what runes were used to create the 'program' for the magic to follow. Using Flamel's notes, Harry was able to determine the specific rune sets used in Alchemy and how there were supposed to be used in the circle.

Harry also discovered that the various lines and shapes inside the circle were used to connect one rune with the other within the Circle of Power. This provides a more complex instruction without having to re-use the same runes over and over again. To put it simply, the rune sets on the outer circle provides the base instruction while the lines and shapes inside the circle connecting one rune to the other was used for more detailed instructions.

For example, the outer rune would describe the shape of the object while the inner circle would guide the magic as to HOW the object would be created. It was mesmerizing and interesting at the same time.

Harry got this down pat but was totally flabbergasted when Nicholas showed Harry the diagram for the creation of a Philosopher's Stone. There were hundreds of runes used and the various lines and shapes were mind-boggling. Since he already got the basics down, Nicholas gave Harry the diagram as basis for the study. He would spend the rest of the year breaking down the diagram and translating the rune sets before writing down the instructions in English for the Alchemist to peruse. If he proved successful then he would start his first sting in Alchemy.

-x-x-x-x-x-

While Harry was busy learning the basics of Alchemy with Nicholas Flamel, Hermione was under the tutelage of Perenelle Flamel to become an Enchantress.

According to the Enchantress, enchanting was the art of guiding magic towards an object and imbues it with a purpose. The most basic example of Enchanting was spelling an object. This was similar to the creation of portkeys or giving an object a property to be unbreakable.

However, the difference between using spells was that they could be easily dispelled. A simple '_Finite'_ or the more potent '_Finite_ _Incantatem'_ would take the magic away leaving the object without any purpose at all.

Enchanting, on the other hand, was to utilize magic to actually place the magic in the object itself, making it a part of the object, turning them as one. No counterspell could ever get rid of an Enchanter's work. The only way to destroy the enchantment was to destroy the object.

Hermione's first lesson in the Art of Enchanting was something called Spell Weaving. Perenelle told her that the best way to actually imbue an object with a magical purpose was to create an exact replica of an object using a magical thread. Once the object was done, there was a method to embed the magical weaving INTO the object itself, thus making the object and enchantment as one.

Before she could get into that, however, she needed to actually create a thread of magic.

Perenelle just gave her a smirk after the introduction before starting her lessons in earnest.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry could safely say that he found his calling in Alchemy. Even if his master was astounded at the way he could grasp a concept of transmuting an object easily and performing the actual change with ease. Thanks to his training in wandless magic, Harry's command over magic complimented his workings in Alchemy, making it easy to power the circle with enough magic to avoid overpowering the runes – which usually results in a large enough explosion that would turn an alchemist into ash.

His first project was to transmute objects. Using a slab of marble, Harry was able to create a life-size marble statue of himself. It was a tad vain but he couldn't help it much to the Master Alchemist's amusement.

His next project was to improve potions through Alchemy. Using his knowledge of magical ingredients, Nicholas instructed Harry on how to create solid potions. For example, he could easily turn a _Pepper-Up Potion_ into a _Pepper-Up Capsule_ that a patient could easily take in instead of being rammed down their throats.

Of course, he needed to creat a unique diagram for this idea since Nicholas didn't bother to work on it. Sure, he knew how it was done but he was just too lazy to give it a try.

It took a month to properly create a diagram. Good thing that it only took one diagram since he created a rune set that would utilize the alchemist's knowledge of the potion to create it. If that wasn't the case then he needed one diagram for EACH potion and that would take decades, if not centuries, to pull off.

Harry's first success in this project was the creation of _Skele-Gro_ into capsule form since no one in their right mind would want to drink the vile tasting potion. He shuddered a bit when he remembered the potion being forced down his throat courtesy of the mother hen of the hospital wing. With this in mind, Harry decided to make a person's life easier by turning one into a capsule to make it easier to swallow.

Since there weren't anyone around to test the results, Harry banished the bones on his right arm and took in the first Skele-Gro capsule he created. He discovered that the potency of _Skele-Gro_ increased when in capsule form since it took a measly 2 hours to grow all the bones in his arm instead of the usual 8 hours.

Elated by his success, Harry immediately created a large batch of _Pepper-Up Capsules_ for Hermione since she was always drained every night after her lessons with Perenelle.

Since he got the process down pat, Nicholas told Harry to spend a whole year in experimenting with this method of Alchemy using already discovered potions.

Harry had fun in creating potion capsules in bulk which half of them he sent to Madam Pomfrey, via Fawkes, much to her delight.

One of her letters commended him for such a useful invention and asked him to provide her with a complete set for the running of the hospital wing. She even sent a 5-foot list containing all the potions she needed to be 'capsulized'. Harry heartily agreed and waived the promise of payment since it was a good experience for him.

He also made extras of these potions to add to his stores. He made a mental note to ask Hermione to _enchant_ him an expanded multi-compartment cigarette case so that he could bring out the needed potions on short notice.

* * *

**2003**

It had been a year and a half since Harry started his project – the creation of a Philosopher's Stone.

Though many Alchemists would have had their own reasons in creating one, Harry's reason was quite simple.

He wanted to repay the kindness the Flamels have shown to him and Hermione.

Sure, they wanted to go to the 'Next Great Adventure' but the presence of a stone under their ownership would allow them to control WHEN they would be going to the next step of life, or in this case, afterlife.

Harry was already successful in breaking down the diagram in the creation of the stone. He wasn't able to modify it for simpler use but he guessed that making the diagram complicated would make it much harder for an Alchemist to create though there were only two people who knew the secret and had no intentions of sharing it to the world. He and Nicholas both agreed on that.

According to the notes, the main ingredient needed in the creation of a Philosopher's Stone was blood. It doesn't discriminate between magical or muggle as long as it was blood.

Nicholas mentioned in his notes that blood was the source of life to all living beings. He was quite correct there. Without blood, there was no life. This realization spurned Nicholas into creating a stone for himself and his wife.

To put it simply, the Philosopher's Stone was a crystallize mixture of blood imbued with a magical program. The program was comprised of four basic instructions:

One, the creation of the _Elixir of Life_ that prolongs one's lifespan by stopping the aging process for a certain amount of time; The _Elixir of Life_ may also be used as a means of treatment. Since it could put the body in a form of stasis, any wounds or diseases incurred wouldn't aggravate until a treatment is given.

Two, the creation of a powerful rejuvenation draught called the _Reverse Aging Potion_ that reverses a person's age to a healthier body. This may be used in tandem with the _Elixir of Life _which stops a person's aging cycle for a set amount of time; Those who possesses the Philosopher's Stone could always de-age themselves back to their teens and stop their aging from there. Once the _Elixir of Life_ runs out, they would slowly age back until it was time to take it again. This was one reason why it was also called the mythical Fountain of Youth.

Three, the creation of a golem with an unlimited source of energy to keep it running; The Flamels had two of them guarding their home.

Four, the transmutation of any base object into another object - like lead into gold, or coal into diamond; according to the notes, when the Philosopher's Stone was used on a non-living object, it rapidly ages it until it reaches its maximum evolution. Lead would eventually turn to gold and coal would later turn into diamond. It takes hundreds of years for it to come to pass but one could easily do so in seconds with the aid of the stone.

Harry roped Hermione into this project easily since she also looked up to Perenelle like a mother the same way Harry looked up to Nicholas as a father. Both just weren't prepared to let go of them just yet.

It took a year and a half to amass the amount of blood needed since they used their own blood for the project. Thankfully, Harry's _Blood Rejuvenation Capsules_ worked like a charm. They would eat a lot for dinner, drain a lot of blood into two expanded barrels with a _stasis_ enchantment which Hermione contributed to the project_, _and take the _Blood Rejuvenation Capsules_ before going to bed. The Flamels were none the wiser.

Now that all the preparations were completed, all that was left was to transmute the stone. Harry and Hermione asked for a two-day off from their busy schedule to go back to Britain for business. Of course, the Flamels immediately agreed and provided them with a _portkey_ to exit the property and return.

They needed to work fast since the Flamels wouldn't last long, around two months, without the stone. He and Hermione would transmute the stone tonight.

-x-x-x-x-x-

When they arrived in Hogsmeade via portkey, Harry immediately called for Fawkes to flame travel them to a remote property owned by the Potters. It was a large forest with a small clearing in the middle. It was big enough for the circle so Harry chose the place to transmute the stone.

When they arrived, Harry didn't waste any time as he wandlessly carved the Circle of Power on the ground. Considering the size and the need to make sure that the angles were correct, Harry had to do it slowly with a lot of consultation from his notes. Hermione helped in double-checking the circle for mistakes since a circle this large could cause an explosion so large that it would obliterate the forest around them with a large crater in the middle.

It was three hours later that they finished and Harry had to take one of his _Pepper-Up Capsules_ just to replenish his depleted magical core. Once his reserves were back to full, he and Hermione went around the circle to triple-check everything until they were satisfied.

"Hey, Harry, how much blood is needed to make one Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione asked curiously since she wasn't privy to the knowledge on the ingredients of the stone only that one of them was blood. Harry kept the other ingredients a secret since he promised Nicholas that he would. Hermione understood the need for secrecy and didn't begrudge her surrogate brother from keeping it.

"Let me see, we need around 1000 liters of blood." He replied distractedly.

"Uh…then you only need to use one barrel then." Hermione said absently as she pulled out one of the _blood barrel_ from the trunk.

"Huh?" was all Harry said as he looked at Hermione in shock. Said witch just rolled her eyes.

"We have two barrels of blood here, one from you and one from me. We've been filling it up for more than a year now and we took more than a liter every night. Do the math."

"Oh. So how many liters do we have?" Harry asked Hermione in a daze. He didn't know that they had so much blood. If they had enough, it might be a good idea to do TWO Philosopher's Stone instead, one for the Flamels and one for their own use.

"Let me check," said Hermione as she pulled out the other barrel and cast a _measuring spell_. "Your barrel holds a total of 1,326 liters; while mine holds 922 liters."

"Wow!" said Harry in shock. "That's a lot of blood."

"Yes, yes. It is a lot of blood." said Hermione in her usual sarcastic tone. "What do you want to do with the rest?"

"Well…we could always make another stone for our use since we would be giving one to the Flamels." Harry said with an innocent look on his face.

"Fine. But you're going to make the other tomorrow. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Harry said with a nod since he needed to acquire the other ingredients again. He only had enough for one. "Now let's get started."

Harry conjured a very large tub made of ceramic in the middle of the circle since they needed something that would hold all the blood without any enchantments on it. The magic that created the tub wouldn't matter since it had no active effect on the main ingredient. Casting a_ measuring spell_, he and Hermione slowly poured the blood into the tub until they reached the right amount. It took quite a while and the amount of blood almost filled the tub to the brim.

Job done, Hermione moved away from the circle so she wouldn't see the extra ingredients Harry was about to put into the tub.

Seeing Hermione moving out of sight, Harry immediately pulled out a bunch of other ingredients and dumping them unceremoniously into the blood. There was no procedure to follow since the circle would initiate the program in the creation of the stone as long as the correct ingredients were in it.

He poured 3 liters worth of Phoenix Tears courtesy of Fawkes, 10 liters of Dragon Blood, 2 ounces of Basilisk Venom, 13 ounces of Unicorn Blood –willing given, and 1 kilogram of grounded Fairy Wings.

Once that was done, Harry walked out of the circle carefully so as not to disturb it. He walked just outside the edge and immediately placed his hand on the circle where the alchemist was supposed to activate the transmutation process. Harry could feel the power exiting his magical core and into the transmutation circle. The circle and the runes surrounding it released a soft red glow until it grew brighter as it pulled more magic out of him. Harry could feel it working as magical energies from the circle shot out from the ground and poured into the blood and other ingredients with it. There was a bright flash of light before Harry felt the magical drain stop.

He shakily stood from his position and walked towards the tub. Gone were the blood and other ingredients. All that was left inside was a blood-red stone the size of a tennis ball, glowing softly with magic. Harry levitated the stone to his hand and studied it.

Now all that was left was to test it if the transmutation of a Philosopher's Stone was successful.

He pulled out a block of lead he prepared beforehand and placed the stone on top of it. A short burst of magic later, the lead was gone and was replaced by a block of gold. He grinned.

Harry turned and saw Hermione walking towards him with a worried look on her face. He didn't say anything but just raised the blood-red stone in one hand and the gold bar on the other.

Harry didn't know it but the successful creation of the stone immediately turned him into a Master Alchemist.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry and Hermione _apparated_ to the Leaky Cauldron for the night since it would be useless to stay in the clearing and Hermione adamantly refused to sleep on the ground. Both slept like a log until the next morning.

After breakfast, Harry left Hermione in Diagon Alley since she wanted to do a little bit of shopping while he would be going to France to visit his contacts to acquire the ingredients.

Thankfully, he still had an extra of Phoenix Tears in a separate container just in case so that was one problem solved. It took Harry almost dinner time to acquire all the ingredients since some of them were rare, especially the freely-given Unicorn's Blood. Dragon Blood was quite easy to acquire since all he needed to do was _apparate_ to a Dragon Reserve and buy it from there. The rest can be bought in an Apothecary shop, well except for the Basilisks Venom since it was rare. Fortunately, Harry's stint in potions acquainted him with a lot of shady characters in Magical France for such an item.

After a hearty dinner provided by Tom the Barman, Harry and Hermione _apparated_ back to the clearing to begin the transmutation of another Philosopher's Stone.

It was around midnight that they finished the process since they had to re-do the circle since Harry didn't want to just leave a complete Circle of Power for anyone to come across. They returned to the Leaky Cauldron to sleep the night away and return to the Flamel House in the morning.

-x-x-x-x-x-

After having breakfast with the Flamels, Harry immediately entreated them to a talk in the living room. Of course, Nicholas and Perenelle were confused as to what they would be talking about but they approved of the request and adjourned to the specified area and made themselves comfortable.

Harry would be the one to explain this project to the Flamels since it was idea in the first place. Hermione would just sit there and watch the show.

"Thanks for approving of this meeting, Nicholas, Perenelle." started Harry. It was during their first year that the couple asked the two of them to address them by their first names. The duo was reluctant at first but eventually gave in when the two practically reminded them of it every day.

"No problem, Harry. So what do you want to talk about?" Nicholas asked curiously.

"Before we start, how long do you think your current _Elixir of Life_ would last?" Harry asked immediately, wanting to get to the point.

"I would say around a month at the most. Perenelle and I could feel the effects weakening." Nicholas answered somberly.

Harry just nodded and pulled out a box from his pocket and placed it on the table. He slid it towards the couple and waited.

Nicholas curiously looked at the box then at Harry's expectant face. He reached out and opened the lid. What he saw inside made him gasp in surprise. Perenelle, curious about her husband's reaction, also looked into the opened box. She mimicked her husband.

"Harry…how?" was also Nicholas said.

"I already perfected and understood the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. I've been studying it for a year and a half now until all the ingredients were ready. We left the house and went into a property I own to transmute the stone in privacy." explained Harry before pulling out another Philosopher's Stone from his pocket and putting it on the table much to the shock of the Flamels.

"What? Another one? Where in the world did you get so much blood?"exclaimed Nicholas in both surprise and confusion.

Harry looked at them sheepishly along with a grin from Hermione.

"Well, Hermione and I had been stockpiling our own blood for a year and a half. Hermione enchanted a barrel with an _expanded space_ and a _stasis field_. Thanks to my _Blood Replenishing Capsules_, we were able to draw blood every night. Because of it, you didn't notice what we were doing. We stopped drawing blood three nights ago. I made a mistake in calculating how much blood we were drawing and ended up with enough for two stones."

"Hermione here helped in the creation of the circle since she had access to it from the library. However, she didn't know the other ingredients aside from the human blood and she left the clearing where I created the circle to make sure that the secret stayed safe in the both of us. After we successfully transmuted the first stone, we stayed the night over at the Leaky Cauldron and I spent the next day running around France to acquire the other ingredients. I created the other stone after we had dinner."

Nicholas and Perenelle just looked at the two grinning apprentices in shock. Both utilized their own specialization in the creation of a Philosopher's Stone. It was amazing for someone who just studied under them for less than 4 years.

"Did you test it?" asked Nicholas as he picked up the stone, checking it over to see if there was some problems with it. To his astonishment, there were none.

"Yes, I did and it worked perfectly." said Harry with a grin before pulling out the transmuted gold and placed it on the table. Perenelle took the gold and ran a diagnostic charm over it.

"It's real solid gold. Amazing." she whispered in amazement.

Nicholas nodded at the masterpiece he was holding and looked at Harry in the eye.

"Now the question is, why did you make a stone for us? I could understand making one for your own use but why make one for us?" asked Nicholas in a serious tone.

Harry sighed.

"Hermione and I weren't ready to part with you as of yet." Harry admitted in a whisper but the Flamel couple could hear it clearly. "You treated us like family for the past years and we were slowly looking at the both of you the same way. For Hermione, Penerelle became a mother that she lost when her own mother died. You Nicholas became a father figure for me. Sure, both of you were ready to go into the 'Next Great Adventure' but we were selfish. We knew that if the first stone didn't get destroyed, you would still be using it until now or until you deem it enough and pass on. You didn't have a choice. So we decided to create a stone for you, to give you that choice back."

Perenelle didn't say anything but just stood up from her chair and gave Harry and Hermione a huge hug, tears streaming down their faces. Nicholas just sat there and looked at Harry with pride in his eyes. Like a father looking at his son for doing something great.

For Harry, that was all the thanks he needed and couldn't be happier.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The next day revealed a younger and healthier Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. The couple graciously thanked the duo for their effort. Hermione gave Nicholas and Perenelle a loving hug followed closely by Harry. They didn't need to say anything but they were like family.

They were family.

Without the time constraints, lessons flowed steadily from there. Nicholas fine tuning Harry's knowledge in Alchemy since the creation of the stone already marked him as a master in the subject much to the boy's shock. They would be filing the necessary documents the next day at the Ministry of Magic in Britain much to Harry's dismay. He didn't like it but he had to do it much to Nicholas' amusement.

Hermione's lesson continued since she hadn't reached the level of mastery that Harry had over Alchemy. Perenelle told her that there were only a few things she needed to teach her and they could just take it slow from there. All she needed was master her control over her magic and the speed in the creation of the threads. Once she could create a thread and spin it into an object in minutes rather than hours then she was good to go for Mastery.

* * *

**2004**

Harry was skipping down the hall towards the dining room. He just came out of his laboratory with a large grin on his face after successfully finishing a project that he had been working on after the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. It took four months to discover and a month more to actually brew and capsulized.

"Hello, people of Flamel House." Harry greeted everyone with a grin before flopping down on his seat on the table.

Nicholas and Perenelle were looking at him as if he was crazy while Hermione looked at him in curiosity. She knew that look. Harry always had such a look when he discovered something good.

"Alright, Harry, what did you discover this time?" asked Hermione.

Harry didn't say anything but levitated a blue capsule each to the person seating on the table and keeping one for his own.

"What's this?" asked Hermione as she studied the capsule between her fingers. Nicholas and Perenelle were also doing the same.

"What you have in your hand is my latest invention in the field of Potions and Alchemy." Harry said grandly. "I present to you…the _Animagus Transformation Capsule_."

Nicholas gave him a confused look.

"You mean _Animagus Revealing_?" asked Nicholas. Harry shook his head.

"No. _Animagus Transformation_." corrected Harry. "The _Animagus Revealing Potion_ was invented to allow the drinker to discover their animagus form by transforming into an animal for a short period of time. The _Animagus Transformation Capsule_ that I invented is the 'capsulized' version of the potion that will allow the drinker to transform and BOND with their animal. No need to meditate for years just to achieve your form. One capsule and voila…instant animagus."

Hermione looked at the innocent capsule in her hand.

"Are you sure this works?" she asked curiously. Harry looked at her as if he was slapped.

"Of course it works. I know it works though I haven't tested it yet." Harry admitted. "Today was supposed to be the field test. I'm going to take one and transform. If something goes wrong, you people can just bring me back." Harry said with an excited grin on his face.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Hermione asked again.

"Hermione. Of course it's safe." Harry said in an exasperated tone. "What's with all the questions today? I'm a Potions Master after all."

"If you want to test it then I want you to do so out in the grounds. I don't want you to ruin the interior just in case you turn into something big." warned Perenelle.

Harry nodded and immediately stood up from his seat and dashed out to the grounds followed closely by Hermione, Nicholas, and Perenelle.

When they arrived at the large ground surrounding Flamel House, the trio saw Harry standing in the middle of the field.

Since his audience and emergency healers had arrived, Harry popped the capsule into his mouth and swallowed. Nothing happened for the first few second but immediately felt his mind and body change. He immediately noticed a new presence enter his mind; something primal, more powerful than his own. Considering the nature of his invention, the powerful presence melded with his own until he could easily feel it become a part of him. As his mind adjusted to the change, his body followed. He wasn't prepared, however, for the reaction of his audience.

"Holy shit! He's a bloody Nemean Lion!" shouted Nicholas as he readied his wand. He didn't need it but it might be necessary to REALLY overpower his spells without draining him. He knew how dangerous this mythical beast was. He didn't expect Harry to turn into one.

"Nicholas! Language!" shouted Perenelle as she whacked her husband on the head before pulling out her own wand. She didn't show it but she was freaking out.

"What in the world is that?" exclaimed Hermione as she watched Harry complete his first ever transformation into his animal form.

Hearing the name of the animal that he turned into from Nicholas, Harry immediately looked himself over. From the height, he would say that he was more than 6 feet tall, towering over everyone in the clearing. His had golden fur and he knew that they were as hard as diamond. He looked behind him and he could see his tail with its golden fur at its tip. Grinning, he shook his head and released an ear-splitting roar that echoed around across the grounds. The volume of his roar packed so much power that it scared the wildlife in the area.

"Harry?" asked Hermione in a voice filled with both fear and awe. She wasn't sure if Harry was in control. She just hoped that he was.

Considering that he didn't have any human vocal chords, all he could do was nod and sat on his haunches. They all backed away when he grinned. He was sure that they could see all his razor sharp teeth gleaming in the morning sun.

"Amazing." Nicholas whispered though Harry could hear it quite clearly. All his senses here heightened from the sound of it. "Are you in control, Harry?"

Harry simply nodded and padded over to Hermione who was standing there looking shocked at the approaching lion. Feeling mischievous, Harry licked her with his long wet tongue from chin to hairline.

"HARRY!" shouted Hermione as she started throwing curses at him with every wave of her hand like a machine gun.

Harry simply jumped back but wasn't able to evade the spells from her surrogate sister. He was surprised, however, when the spell just bounced off his fur. He just sat on his haunches and waited for Hermione to stop throwing curses at him, enjoying the feeling of the spells hitting but not penetrating his defenses.

Five minutes later, Hermione was huffing and puffing from the exhaustion of rapid spell casting. From the looks of it, she was overpowering her spells. Feeling that it was safe, Harry immediately turned back to his human form without effort. It seems that his invention worked as it supposed to.

"Well, now that was amazing." Harry said calmly as if changing into a Nemean Lion wasn't something to be excited about. "I guess it really worked."

"I hate you." was Hermione said as she tried to regain her breathing. She felt as if she ran a marathon with lead weights on.

"I love you too, Mione." Harry retorted with a grin.

-x-x-x-x-x-

After transforming a few times to get the feel of it and Perenelle making sure that the potion didn't have any damage in his physiology, Harry transformed back to his human form and urged the trio to give it a try.

The first one to try it was Nicholas who promptly turned into a black Labrador.

Perenelle followed by turning into white owl that reminded Harry of Hedwig though the breed was obviously different.

Harry was surprised, however, when Hermione transformed into a Shadow Wolf - magical creature that lived in dark forests that was believed to have abilities over shadows.

Since the trio was content to stay in their animal forms, Harry immediately transformed and started to play a game of tag with Hermione's wolf. He might be stronger but she was definitely faster. Nicholas' black Labrador joined it which turned the game of tag into a wrestling match. Perenelle's owl just perched on a branch and hooted at them as if saying 'kids'.

When the trio had enough roughhousing for the day, they changed back to their human forms and went back into the house for lunch.

Sticking to the tradition of the Marauders, Harry and Hermione tried to come up with appropriate names for their animal side.

For Harry, he eventually named himself Griever. A word he got from one of Dudley's video games. It meant Lion Protector or something. For him, it just sounded cool much to everyone's amusement.

For Hermione, she named herself Fenrir. She didn't mind that it was a male wolf's name. Harry agreed that the name suited her since she was quite a large wolf, larger than normal anyway.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Perenelle placed Harry and Hermione under observation after their animagus transformation since it was normal for witches and wizards to have certain characteristics of their animal forms after a successful change.

It was a week later that they discovered that the change was gradual the more they transformed into their animal sides.

For Harry, his senses became heightened to the point that he could hear a fly buzzing around the room and sounding like a chainsaw. A side-effect was the curing of his eyes. He could now see a whole lot better without his glasses. They later found out that Harry had night vision. Harry's reflexes also improved when he practically avoided all of Hermione and Nicholas spells with ease, not getting hit once much to their chagrin. He also became stronger and faster. All in all, Harry liked the change though he pouted when he realized that he didn't get the invulnerability that Nemean Lions were known to have.

Hermione's change was similar to that of her surrogate brother. Her senses were heightened, her reflexes improved, her strength increased but she was not as strong as Harry was. One change that had all of them flabbergasted was her ability to disappear into the shadows. After a few experiments, it was discovered by Perenelle that Hermione could literally hide herself inside a shadow for an unknown period of time. This was the perfect way to hide if she really wanted to. The only drawback to this ability was that she would appear where she was hiding when the shadow disappeared or when targeted by light.

* * *

**2005**

It was the middle of the year that Hermione finally earned her Mastery in Enchanting. Perenelle proudly called her an Enchantress when Hermione successfully enchanted a vase to be unbreakable and with the ability to provide nourishment for any plant placed within through the infusion of magic. Hermione was so proud of herself for attaining her Mastery that she gave Harry a huge hug that greatly bruised his ribs.

The duo stayed with the Flamels for a few more months enjoying the company of their new family before finally deciding to leave and proceed with their plan - to travel the world and gain experience.

After a tearful farewell and a promise to send lettesr or visits in the future, Harry and Hermione took a portkey back to Britain where they needed to drop by Gringotts to make sure that their plans with Spleensmash good to go.


	5. Traveling and Settling Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 05: Travels and Settling Down**

* * *

**February 8, 2005 (Tuesday)**

Harry and Hermione's visit to Gringotts were purely business.

Since they wanted to concentrate on their apprenticeship, Harry gave Spleensmash free reign over the accounts as long as the decisions were reasonable. For starters, he gave the goblin access to his Trust Vault, which was still quite full since he didn't get to use it much, to invest with since Harry knew that goblins were talented when it came to business.

To make it more profitable for his account manager, the goblin would get 20% of the total earnings from the investments so it was enough to push the little guy to do his best. It was safe to say that Harry made a good decision since the goblin was grinning like a maniac when Harry signed the papers to his new job description.

Harry and Hermione finally entered Gringotts after being absent from Britain for 5 years. After being directed by a very helpful teller to Spleensmash's office, they immediately went down to business.

Since the duo was out of the country for 5 years, their first order of business was to ask the goblin on the latest news in the Wizarding Britain, well those directly connected to him and Hermione anyway.

First, the goblin told them that the families they impoverished filed a lawsuit against them though it didn't push through since the contract was ironclad. The Ministry of Magic didn't help them so they had no legal aides to fall back on. They even went so far as to come up with a Bill to ratify the Goblin Treaty concerning the debts but they were all voted down without so much as a debate.

The next important news was Kingsley being voted again for the Minister position. It was a landslide win for the ex-Auror since he did a good job getting Magical Britain back up to its former glory after the fall of Voldemort. Also, the people liked him so it was a plus. Such is the case; they had the full backing of the Minister which aided them greatly in their application for a dual citizenship.

Speaking of which, Harry and Hermione were quite happy that their request for a British-American Citizenship was approved without a hitch. There was a letter from Kingsley to get in touch with him as soon as possible before they left England for parts unknown since the goblin was tightlipped as to where the Potter-Granger duo was planning to settle down. Even the Headmistress didn't say anything when asked much to their relief.

Spleensmash also provided them with some news regarding some of their classmates since Harry tasked the goblin to keep track of the current Hogwarts graduate since he knew most of them.

For starters, Neville Longbottom finally took his place in the Wizengamot. There was a letter addressed to him stating that he should be taking his seats soon but decided that he would be giving the Potter and Black seat to Kingsley to help him push some reforms if he needed to.

Of course, it would just be a proxy assignment and not a permanent one. Thankfully, Spleensmash already drew up the documents regarding that assignment so all Harry did was to sign it and a copy would be sent to the Minister later to inform him of the good news.

Luna Lovegood now had the Quibbler back into circulation. Instead of just putting in news on magical creatures, the quirky Ravenclaw did her best to turn it around by putting in some 'real' news which increased its circulation. Her newspaper now rivaled the Quibbler and Harry contracted Spleensmash to subscribe him in both newspapers starting next year to be delivered to his new home in La Push.

It didn't mean that leaving England meant that they would cut themselves off from their birth place. They just didn't want to be put in a pedestal but would still come for visits from time to time if they wanted to.

Susan Bones also took her seat in the Wizengamot and was hanging out with Neville. Hopefully they would get married soon but from the looks of it, they were taking things slow.

Draco Malfoy, on the other hand, was not in a good position right now along with the other families who supported Voldemort back in the war. Due to their impoverished state, every single one of them were staying out of the limelight and barricading themselves in their own homes since Harry wasn't vindictive enough to do that to them though Hermione really wanted to do so.

Lucius Malfoy, was captured after a tip-off from the Ministry. They didn't know that the tip came from Harry and was released via some wizards working under the goblins.

The Weasleys had a stroke of good luck when Arthur Weasley was voted in as Kingsley's Undersecretary. The increase in paycheck made the family's life a whole lot easier though they wouldn't need it since the entire clan was earning money with their own jobs and businesses.

Ron Weasley was working with George at the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes along with Percy. There wasn't much to say except for the fact that the store was earning Harry a lot of money thanks to his partnership with the twins.

Ginny Weasley was playing Quidditch under the Hollyhead Harpies as a Chaser. She was successful in this field and was also working as a part-time Auror under apprenticeship during her off days.

Harry didn't know what Arthur did that changed the two youngest Weasleys but it seemed to have worked.

Molly Weasley was the same as always, staying at home and taking care of everyone though she was quite happy nowadays since Bill gave her a granddaughter to dote on.

After that short list of news from their classmates, it was time to get back into business.

The house in La Push was done and all it needed was to be warded properly though Harry told Spleensmash that he and Hermione would take care of it on their own. During their apprenticeship under the Flamels, they made a detailed plan on how to protect their new home. The list they created was extensive but it would be easy for the two masters to put the necessary wards up in the shortest possible time. Hermione was even working on the possibility of enchanting the whole house but it was a bit project which they had all the time in the world to work with since they had a Philosopher's Stone to extend their lifespan.

They finally saw some wizarding photos of the house and the goblins followed Harry and Hermione's specifications down to a tee. Harry modeled it after the Pittock Mansion in Portland since he found the architecture to his liking. There were some improvements on the floor plan, however, since it would be a combination of muggle and magical.

The first three floors were normal so they could easily invite visitors in without problems. All the modern amenities were installed from entertainment to utilities.

The only difference would be the attic which was expanded to accommodate their magical needs. It contained a large library which Harry and Hermione decided to fill by purchasing lots of books during their coming trip and having the books in the Potter and Black Vaults to be transferred there which they would sort once they moved in. A training room was also properly customized and warded. A potions and alchemy room for Harry along with a workshop for Hermione so both could practice their trade in complete privacy.

The grounds were manicured with a large fountain of a phoenix, which looked a lot like Fawkes, in the middle. Guest houses were placed at the back of the manor and the roads were properly paved – two roads, one leading to the La Push Road and the one going down to the beach which was a part of their property.

Harry definitely loved the idea of having his own private beach to relax on.

They also asked for Spleensmash to put up a 4-car garage beside the property since they would be purchasing new cars for use. The duo was thankful that Nicholas taught them how to drive during their apprenticeship. Harry definitely wanted to take Sirius' bike for a ride. It was a good idea to instruct the goblin to retrieve it from Hagrid since the giant just kept it inside his house for safekeeping. Also, Hermione wanted to see how the enchantments on the bike worked and possibly replicate it on their new cars.

After discussing the new Marauder's Den, as Harry and Hermione dubbed their new home, they talked about the paperworks to finalize their citizenship. They signed a few documents using a _Blood Quill_ since it was necessary to be signed in their blood to make it ironclad. That was done quite quickly and both had their own papers tucked safely in their pockets. They were also issued standard American IDs with their new names that they would be using during their stay in Washington,

Harry's new name in America was Leo Black while Hermione was Freya Black, both posing as brother and sisters, orphans and inherited their fortune from their parents. They refrained from using Potter since it was known throughout the world thanks to his deeds.

Once that was done, Harry immediately signed the transfer of the Black Vault to a Gringotts Branch in Seattle where Spleensmash's brother, Liverwhacker, would be reassigned to take care of his account. Harry definitely agreed to keep it in the family much to their account manager's relief.

After getting the itinerary for their trip from the goblin, Harry and Hermione left to prepare for their first step of their journey to a year of experience around the world.

-x-x-x-x-x-

While Hermione was busy shopping for supplies for their coming trip around the globe, Harry went to the Ministry of Magic to have a meeting with Kingsley. He was quickly ushered to the Minister's office by an expecting Auror, possibly briefed by the Minister in advance to make sure that Harry wasn't mobbed in the Atrium, and had a nice quiet talk.

The first agenda was Kingsley asking where Harry would be staying in America. Harry told him the location but extracted a magical oath that he would never relay this information to anyone unless he had explicit permission from him. Kingsley immediately stated the oath and Harry felt it settle much to his relief.

He told Kingsley all of his plans with Hermione and promised to stay in touch. He would give Kingsley his _floo address_ once he had it set up with the American Ministry so he could contact them just in case if there was an emergency.

Before Harry left, Kingsley congratulated Harry for being the second Master Alchemist in existence as well as some Mastery under his belt. He also asked Harry to relay the same congratulations to Hermione for doing the same with her specialized field.

Much to his chagrin, the information of their Masteries leaked out to the public which immediately placed him and Hermione on a pedestal higher that the last time. Harry was thankful for his decision to leave Wizarding Britain.

* * *

Harry and Hermione's first stop was in Egypt. Aside from sight-seeing, Harry and Hermione wanted to have a first-hand experience in learning about the wards that Egyptian sorcerers of olden times used to safeguard their tombs.

During their two-week stay, they visited a few pyramids, checkout out bazaars and bought a lot of magical and muggle souvenirs, lots of books on Egyptian magic; and finally visited an site where Curse-Breakers were checking out the wards of a newly-discovered tomb.

Harry and Hermione immediately joined with the group just to observe though it was a good thing they were there since one of the Curse Breakers failed to discover and dispel a trap that would call down lightning that could easily fry the Curse Breakers to a crisp.

Without a moment's hesitation, Harry immediately _apparated_ to the middle of the group and put up the strongest _anti-elemental shield_ he could muster. He seriously overpowered the spell since instead of absorbing the lightning and slowly weakening the protection; it deflected it to the side with ease.

The witches and wizards who saw him were awed at the ease the Man-Who-Conquered were able to put such a complicated and powerful shield, not to mention he did it wandlessly.

After berating the Curse Breaker who triggered the ward much to Hermione's amusement, Harry showed everyone his mastery in the subject of ward by breaking it down piece by piece while telling the listening Curse Breakers what he was doing. The scribes were busy taking down notes while watching a master at work.

Harry and Hermione left the site with a large appreciation of Curse Breakers. It was a difficult job and very hazardous to one's health.

* * *

Their next stop was China. Since it was a big place, Harry and Hermione decided to stay there for a month.

Aside from wanting to check out the tourist attractions, Hermione was interested in visiting the many Magical Shaolin Temples in the area where the practitioners there were known for their mastery over Body Magic.

Body Magic was considered as lost art since only a few were able to utilize its abilities, much less master them. Like Wandless Magic, Body Magic was to strengthen one's physical attributes to high levels bt properly circulating magic in their bodies. They were lucky enough to meet an old traveling monk who was well-versed in the art and the duo spent weeks staying with him to gather information on the subject.

Fortunately for them, the monk was a perfectionist who wanted to train Harry and Hermione in its use since they were capable of Wandless Magic, though only the basics to get them started since it was considered a lifetime commitment to master the art.

They were able to catch on to the basics of circulating magic all over their bodies instead of just limiting it to the channels they created after discovering their magical core. Unlike Wandless Magic, Body Magic required them to actually saturate their muscles with magic to increase its capabilities.

This took a while but they eventually started the process after two weeks. This was useful for the duo since this simple application would allow them to increase their physical limits through the aid of magic without the need for spells.

As thanks for the impromptu lessons, Hermione enchanted the monk's staff to be _impervious_ with a built-in _point-me-spell_ so he wouldn't get lost. H

arry's gift was to give the monk a few of his capsules with instructions on how and when to use them.

The rest of their time in China was spent touring and sampling many of the delectable cuisines only offered in the country.

* * *

At Harry's request, the duo next port of call was Japan.

Nicholas Flamel informed him that the Japanese had a method of working with metals that was almost similar to Alchemy. They were able to magically enhance these metals for the weapons of old. Even if they were no longer being used, some old masters were still practicing the art and sharing their knowledge to those who were interested.

Since learning this skill required years of actual practice, Harry settled for an interview with an expert in the subject while Hermione scoured the magical alley for books on the subject and then some. They stayed there for a week to check some tourist traps and had fun with the locals during one of their many events.

* * *

After Japan, Harry and Hermione left for Tibet to visit the monks in the Himalayas. Their reason for the visit was to study with the monks for three months to improve their Mind Arts.

Even if they had pretty good shields, the Flamels suggested that they follow their footsteps to visit the ancient monks to learn how to properly harness their mental capabilities.

While there, the duo was taught a better method of meditation that allowed better control over their mental faculties. Despite lacking in the more active methods of Mind Arts, Harry and Hermione were able to improve their _Occlumency_ shields to the point that they could keep it up and running at full power without having to check up on it too often. This worked by 'programming' your subconscious mind to work for you. While you are consciously doing something, the subconscious was performing according to your instructions.

A side-effect to this lesson was acquiring the skill to somewhat read the surface thoughts of people. Unlike _Legilimency_, this skill didn't need eye contract or a wand. Though they could never go deeper into a person's memories, it was a highly useful skill since they could now find out if people were lying to them or not.

Before they left after staying there for three months, Harry and Hermione asked the monks on what they wanted as a gift for teaching them. The monks didn't require any materials things but were very interested in Harry's capsules so Harry gifted them with a full stock of healing capsules with instructions on how they were used. This was a good idea too since the monks were so high up in the mountains that it would be difficult to get supplies from the towns below.

Hermione's contribution was enchanting their infirmary to be always warm since sick people couldn't protect themselves properly from the cold. Heavy wool blankets could only do so much.

It was after they went down from the mountains of Tibet that Harry wanted to visit Marauder's Den. After a brief discussion with Hermione, they finally decided that they could tour the world another time since they needed to fix their new home first. They immediately used the portkey that Spleensmash gave them to transport them to the foyer of their new home.

* * *

**July 15, 2005 **

Harry and Hermione appeared in Marauder's Den for the first time. Their faces were filled with awe at the beauty of the mansion, as well as the surrounding grounds. Deciding to check the inside first, they entered the large door that served as the entrance to their new home.

First they explored the first floor. Unlike the pictures Harry saw on Pittock Mansion; Marauder's Den, though similar in construction, had a modern interior design. Instead of the archaic furniture and fixtures, the overall look screamed modern.

The foyer housed a winding staircase made of marble to the upper floors. The first floor also contained the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Harry immediately fell in love with the living room. It wasn't the sleek black furniture that adorned the room. No. it was the LCD television which covered the entire wall with the multimedia system just below it. Harry decided right there and then to go to La Push or Seattle to buy as many DVDs he could find. He was going to have a movie marathon in the future.

Their next stop was the dining room with an archway that led to a large kitchen.

The dining room could easily seat twenty people with ease. The kitchen, on the other hand, was drool-worthy.

When Harry entered the kitchen, he immediately fell in love with it. It was large and spacious, with the same color as the rest of the house – white – a long L shaped counter with black marble top served as the workspace with plenty of cabinets underneath for storing things and a large dishwasher that would make life easier for Harry if he couldn't use magic if there were guests around.

A large double-door refrigerator lined one wall; it was empty so Harry decided to go out tomorrow to stock up on supplies. They still had some food in their trunk to last them for a few days but he needed to shop for groceries soon since he couldn't fight the urge to cook.

After checking out the first floor, the duo immediately went to the upper floors. They discovered that the second floor was for guests. Unlike the 22-rooms of the mansion that the Marauder's Den was modeled after, this one only had 10 though it was more spacious and stocked on modern furniture and fixtures. The third floor housed the master suite – two rooms, one for him and Hermione. The third floor also housed a library which Hermione decided to be stocked with muggle literature which she would shop in the future. The study needed to be stocked as well since it was a bit bare.

Their last stop was the fourth floor or lovingly called the attic. The only entrance to it was a single staircase just beside the library. Upon entering the place, Harry and Hermione immediately felt the magic around the room. It was expanded using goblin magic and the rooms they requested were already prepared though bare. They definitely needed to shop.

Since it was already late in the afternoon, Harry and Hermione decided to rest up. Thankfully, the Master's suite was already prepared, bed and all, so the two immediately crashed on Harry's bed not wanting to be separated for the night.

* * *

**July 16, 2005**

The duo woke up early since they were too excited of their new home to actually get a good night's sleep. After freshening up on their own bathrooms, they decided to make a list on what they would need to shop in Seattle. They could have done so in La Push since it was nearer but considering the size of the place, Seattle was the best bet if they want to get everything in a single trip.

As usual, Hermione took charge in creating the list since she was good at it and Harry was quite happy to leave it on her lap.

Armed with her trustee notebook and pen, she methodically went through each room of the house and listed down everything each room needed. Harry didn't really bother her much but he did make a lot of suggestion for the kitchen and. Hermione gave in to Harry's suggestion immediately since her surrogate brother would be the one cooking their meals.

She wasn't that bad of a cook but Harry's was way better.

Once they exited the house armed with a complete list, they proceed to check the grounds. Harry found the design of the garden much to his liking and the Fountain of Fawkes – named after a joint agreement between the two of them – made for a very beautiful sight. Well, it made for a very beautiful sight since Fawkes was perched on top of the statues's head trilling a song of happiness and love.

A small peek in the guest house resulted in more additions to Hermione's list. Harry just gave her an amused look and pondered how much of a beating the Black Vault would be getting once this day was over.

When they reached the garage, the first thing Harry noted were the lack of tools and supplies. There were plenty of nooks, cabinets, and table for a complete garage but none of the basic necessities for car maintenance and improvements. He wasn't an expert but his brief experience in tending to his Uncle Vernon's car taught him the basics. Since he didn't know anything about mechanics, or cars for that matter, he decided to visit La Push tomorrow to find someone who could help him out.

After seeing the garage, and Hermione's list, Harry decided to buy their own vehicles since the would be spending more time as muggles than magical. Unlike their life in Wizarding Britain, the duo of Battle Scholars vowed to be in touch with both worlds.

Since it would take a pick-up or a medium-sized truck to hold the supplies they were planning to buy, Harry decided to acquire a bigger vehicle, maybe a pick-up truck, since he would be using that most of the time to carry stuff. Hermione's would be more of the sleeker kind; more of a social car than the utilitarian ones.

With the list completed, Harry created a portkey to the magical alley in Seattle that Spleensmash was kind enough to provide him with the coordinates. They needed to visit Gringotts first to acquire new cards linked to the Black Vault and a bottomless wallet that would allow them to withdraw American Dollars and Wizarding currency with ease if the latter was offered.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The magical alley of Seattle was named Merlin's Street and one could immediately spot the difference in comparison to Diagon in Britain.

For starters, the witches and wizards that frequent the place there were all dressed as muggles unlike those in Britain who made a show of wearing only their wizarding apparel.

Second, the place was modern compared to the archaic air that Diagon exuded. Instead of the usual wooden buildings, Merlin's Street was like a shopping arcade commonly found in large malls.

Their first stop was Gringotts where Harry finalized the transfer of the Black Vault with Liverwhacker. Harr found the goblin to be almost similar to Spleensmash though this one had a sense of humor that his brother in Britain definitely lacked, which was perfect for Harry since he wasn't one for propriety anyway.

After they were issued the standard Gringotts Card that could be used in both world – one each for Harry and Hermione with their names on it – and a bottomless wallet, unlike the pouch they were given back in England, that could withdraw both muggle and wizarding currency; they immediately left and started to look around before exiting the alley to downtown Seattle to buy their own respective vehicles.

The first thing they noticed was a shop that sold muggle appliances that worked with magic. Curious, they entered the shop and were awed by the selection of muggle electronic that Wizarding Britain believed wouldn't work around magic.

After a brief interview with the owner, they found out that unlike those in Britain and France, Wizarding America was well-versed in Technomancy – a branch of magic that strived to combine muggle electronic with magic and improve them for every day use.

Hermione immediately made use of her new Gringotts Card to buy the both of them the latest model of mobile phones and laptops. Both ran on magic so there was no need to charge them for power. An additional service was to hook both of them to their respective networks – the mobile phone to a company owned by a squib that brokers to a mobile service, while the laptops were added a charm that would allow it to access to the Internet at top speed. Considering that it was a worthwhile investment, Hermione immediately paid for a year's worth of service upfront. Harry had the foresight to purchase a bag for the laptops since they would be carrying it around until they got a car of their own.

He made a mental note to ask Hermione to help him operate the phone and laptop later. He knew about them, he just didn't know how to use them that well since the Dursleys made sure that he was woefully uneducated about them.

When they exited Merlin's Street, they immediately asked a police officer to direct them to nearest dealership. They got there quite fast since the dealership was just a block away and around the corner.

Harry and Hermione spent an hour with a salesman who gave them a tour of their selections. Instead of the latest models, Harry and Hermione preferred to buy the basics instead of the posh ones. They wanted to blend in, not stand out.

Harry bought a Black Ford F150 while Hermione preferred the sleeker Ford Orange Fiesta. The salesman was flabbergasted since they paid in full using Harry's Gringotts Card which made the guy quite happy. Harry asked Hermione about that and her sister explained to her that those people tend to earn extra money on commission if they sold the items assigned to them.

A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione drove out of the dealership in their new wheels making their way to the nearest mall to shop for the needed supplies. Hermione had to go online on the Internet to download a map of the place. While she was at it, she showed Harry how to operate the laptop and his new mobile phone.

After a small planning session, Hermione was going to the mall to handle the list of supplies needed while Harry would swing by a grocery store to shop for food stuff. They would meet later back in Merlin's Street to purchase some wizarding food to stock up on.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Since Harry finished first, he called up Hermione that they would meet later in Merlin's Street when she's done with her own shopping. They scheduled another shopping trip to Seattle the day after tomorrow to buy muggle clothes since both of them only had a few in their trunk. If they want to blend in better then they definitely needed clothes.

Harry's first stop in Merlin's Alley was the store which specializes in wizarding food. Since this was America, the shop sold them an enchanted with an expanded space so they could stock a lot of food in it. The best part of the service was that they could just order via the stick-on notes attached on the side of the fridge with the items automatically appearing inside and the amount deducted directly from their vault. Harry immediately bought two – one for the attic and one in his room. He changed his mind, however, when the clerk told him that the units came with a _muggle-repelling charm_ so instead of his room, it would be placed in one corner of the kitchen.

His next stop was the Apothecary where he stocked up on potion ingredients since he was running low. He needed to make more healing capsules since he gave most of the healing ones to the monks of Tibet. He ordered extras just in case Hermione had any special orders.

Harry also stopped by the store that specializes in warding supplies and equipments. He purchased a cornerstone and two dozen runic ward stones the size of a baseball since the area of Marauder's Den was quite large. The cornerstone and ward stones would ensure that the wards were properly anchored and would last a long time instead of renewing them once a year. He made a mental note to check if the mansion was sitting on a Magical Ley Line so he could just tap into it as a power source for his wards. He hoped it was since charging ward stones were a chore and very draining.

He hit the bookshop after that and purchased a copy of ALL the books they had available for the library in his attic. Since Hermione was going to take care of the muggle ones, he might as well take his pick of the magical. There were 220 books purchased and it was too large to be shrunk so he signed up for an owl delivery service and instructed the owner to have it delivered this evening after dinner. He and Hermione would spend the whole night cataloguing them in their new wizarding library.

It was around 3 in the afternoon that Hermione arrived in Merlin's Street. They took a short break and enjoyed the snacks offered in a small restaurant called Café Magical. She informed Harry that due to the amount of items she bought, it would be delivered by truck tomorrow morning. Harry immediately approved of that decision since they had no desire to lug their purchases with them even if they already had the wheels for the job. Hermione seriously told him that the amount of items she bought would NOT fit in Harry truck without being shrunk.

Fortunately for them, they found a clothing shop in Merlin's Street that specializes in the latest muggle and wizarding fashion. Hermione immediately dragged a protesting Harry into the shop and both of them got measured up for the latest muggle apparel. They finally exited the shop an hour later with a promise from the owner to have their orders delivered tonight.

They finally left Merlin's Street around 4:30PM and drove at a leisurely pace back to their home in La Push.

* * *

**July 17, 2005**

It was after breakfast that Harry exited Marauder's Den to set up the ward stones before putting up the wards. The cornerstone was placed in the exact center of the house which was underneath the grand staircase. He had to blow up a hole on the marble floor much to his chagrin. Fortunately, it was quickly fixed with an overpowered _reparo _so there was nothing to worry about.

He was just thankful that Hermione was still asleep or he would have been in deep trouble since she really liked their new home - he might be more powerful that her but an angry Hermione was not something to look forward to. She would sleep in today since she went to bed sometime around dawn; she spent the whole night and morning cataloging their magical purchases in the attic. She ushered Harry to bed and promised to take care of everything since she wanted her brother to be fully rested to put up the wards tomorrow.

Speaking of wards, Harry planned on giving Marauder's Den a full set of defensive wards that would put Hogwarts to shame if he could help it.

First were the standard _Anti-Apparition_ and _Anti-Portkey_ wards to make sure that entrance to the Den was limited unless people were keyed in. Harry decided to forgo the _Muggle-Repelling_ ward since they would be inviting some residents of La Push to work for them for the upkeep of the grounds. He did, however, place a _Perimeter ward_ tied to an _Alarm spell_ at the entrance of the road leading to the Den, as well as the entrance down at the beach. If someone was planning to come and visit then they would have plenty of time to be ready for them.

He also needed to place an _Elf Ward_ since he remembered all too well that house elves could pop in anywhere with their own brand of magical travel. Dobby was a prime example of that situation. He added a _Dark Creature_ ward that would repel werewolves and vampires since they heard from Spleensmash while they were in Hogwarts that the place was crawling with them on specific months.

Last, but certainly not the least, he added an _Animagus_ ward that would stop any animagi from entering the place unless given permission by the owner. As a side-effect, the ward would inform them if a person they invited in was an animagus to make sure their guard was up.

Harry was also thinking of putting a set of offensive wards but that was too complicated to put up immediately. He needed to work with Hermione on this one since she had an idea of making it an enchantment. She was still adamant in her decision to enchant the whole property with a slew of capabilities that would make any attackers to the property regret it.

He shivered at the thought of a sadistic and vindictive Hermione enchanting the Den. He pitied anyone stupid enough to attack the both of them if that enchantment was up and running.

Powering these wards would tax Harry's reserves; thankfully, the land he owned was standing on top of a minor Ley Line connected to a major one deep in the heart of La Push. It wouldn't power a place as large as Hogwarts but it was big enough for their purpose for the protection of Marauder's Den.

He already inscribed the necessary rune sets for the wards on the cornerstone keyed to both him and Hermione so they could both adjust it if necessary. All that was needed was to place the small ward stones on the boundary of the property and power them to connect to the cornerstone underneath the mansion.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry was able to finish warding the Den around 10:25AM. He walked into the kitchen satisfied of his work. Even now, he could feel the hum of the defensive wards in place and was quite happy that it was working as it should, not that he doubted his capabilities. Considering that it was almost lunch time, he decided to prepare lunch in advance since he knew that Hermione was a grumpy woman if not served her food when she just woke up. He went to the fridge and pulled out the ingredients Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding.

It was exactly time for lunch that Hermione woke up. She groggily made her way to the dining table where Harry immediately served her a portion of Roast Beef and a generous portion of Yorkshire pudding since he knew that it was her favorite. He also placed a large mug of coffee beside her to wake her up. Hermione without coffee was not something Harry wanted to experience again. Even the house elves of Hogwarts addressed her as the Coffee Monster since she stormed the kitchen when she wasn't given her usual cup of morning coffee; and made a lot of commotion until one elf popped to Diagon Alley to get her a cup. The mess she made took an hour to fix even with house elf magic helping along.

After Hermione devoured her breakfast/lunch plate and downed the coffee in one go, they both started talking on what they would be doing for the day.

Harry informed her that the wards were up and she complimented him for a job well done since she could practically feel the powerful protective magics in the air. She informed him in turn that the attic, which she simply dubbed as 'The Attic' was completely organized. All they needed to do was wait for the rest of the books that Spleensmash and Liverwhacker was supposed to send them to finish the library; as well as customizing their own rooms to their specifications.

Hermione also informed Harry that she didn't want him around the grounds as she will be scouting the place to plan for her enchantment. He immediately agreed since it was a good time to get started on stocking up his capsule case for healing.

* * *

**July 18, 2005**

**9:20AM**

Harry was currently driving his way to an address provided to him by a helpful lady in the Town Center. According to Hermione, the Quilleute's practiced a tribal government. Meaning they had a host of elders to manage their community. It was their custom that outsiders should meet with the elders to 'register' their presence and give them their contact information just in case.

He stopped at the address given to him and saw that it was a small red house, which could easily be classified as a cottage. The place was homey, especially the forest which seemed to embrace the place in its protective embrace. He parked his truck beside the road and proceeded to walk to the front door before knocking.

It was a few minutes later that the door opened to reveal a Native American man with russet skin. He looked old but there was a childish twinkle in his eyes that reminded him of Dumbledore. Harry frowned when he saw the guy was stuck in a wheelchair.

"Morning, who might you be?" asked the man.

"The name's Leo, sir. Leo Black. I came to introduce myself to one of the elders since I read that it was the custom of the Quilleute Reserve here in La Push. The helpful lady in the Town Center directed me to this address."

"Ahh. That was Sue Clearwater. She is the wife of one of the Tribe Elders of La Push. The name's Billy Black, I'm the Head Elder in these parts." said Billy as he extended his hand to Harry who took it and gave it a hearty shake. "Why don't you come in and tell me your story."

Harry nodded and followed the man as he wheeled himself effortlessly inside to the living room. He looked around and couldn't help but feel comfortable at the aura that seems to permeate the air, as well as the welcoming aura coming from Billy Black.

Billy beckoned for Harry to sit on the couch as he wheeled himself to face him on the opposite side.

"You introduced yourself as Black?" asked Billy, curious about the boy with the same family name as his.

"Yes, sir. I'm not sure if we're related but my grandmother was part of the Black Family in England." Harry informed him with a smile. It was true since the Potter Tapestry in the Family Vault traced his lineage to the time of the Founders. His father's mother was Dorea Black, cousin of Sirius' father.

Realization dawned on Billy's face and grinned.

"Well, now. I take it that you are the one who set up that big mansion on the vacant land that belonged to the Black Family just outside of La Push?" asked Billy, excited at possibly meeting another relative.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, sir…"

"None of that. No sir here. Call me, Billy." said Billy with a wave of his hand.

"Well, Billy, I would love to do so if you call me Leo." rebutted Harry with a grin.

"Deal." said Billy as he extended his hand to seal the agreement. Harry took it with a cheeky smile. "So, tell me about yourself and why you chose to settle down in rainy Washington."

"Well, my sister and I wanted a new place to call our own. We were orphans you see and have come to our inheritance back in England. Instead of staying there where plenty of bad memories surrounded us, we chose to settle down in one of the Black properties outside the British Isles. After years of planning, we eventually chose La Push since the place suited us just fine." explained Harry. It was almost the truth. He just modified them a bit to suit their needs of being a muggle family.

"I'm sorry to hear about your family, Leo." said Billy in a comforting and a pat on Harry's shoulder. Harry definitely liked the man. "You said you have a sister?"

"Yes, Freya Black. She's at home right now making sure that everything we packed is placed in their proper places in the Den."

"Den?" Billy asked in a confused voice.

"We call our new home the Marauder's Den, so we just call it Den for short." Harry said with a grin which was mimicked by Billy. Harry really liked the man. He definitely reminded him of Dumbledore – without the beard and the glasses, of course.

"Sounds good." compliment Billy with a nod. "Just to let you know, the Black Family here in La Push, which is just me and Jacob right now since my two daughters are out of town, is descended from the first Black Family to who owned the land of La Push. I'm not sure how it happened but the first Black who came here donated everything, except the patch of land you are currently living on, to the Quilleute Reservation. From what history told us, a few of the Blacks who migrated here from England during the 16th century married the locals. So you could say that we are one big happy family here."

"Great." Harry said enthusiastically. "Freya and I were looking for a place to call home and there was something about La Push that called to us so here we are."

Billy gave Harry an approving nod. He liked the boy if his eyes were something to go by. There was strength there and something else, something that told Billy that the boy in front of him was older than he looked. Leo Black was simply someone to be trusted, someone to be considered a family. He vowed to do just that.

"Well, welcome to the family, Leo. If you need anything, don't hesitate to give me a ring." offered Billy. "Now, that we are properly introduced, is there anything you need to know?"

"Well, the Den is pretty big and the grounds a bit extensive so I was wondering if there are some people we could hire to help things out up there on a weekly basis. I'll pay top money for some manpower and some company." said Harry.

Billy rubbed his chin for a moment.

"Well, there are some kids right now who aren't doing anything so maybe you could ask them to help you out if there's need. I recommend the Clearwater kids. I might even send Jacob once in a while to help." offered Billy.

"Clearwater? Jacob?" asked Harry in confusion. He wondered if this was a distant relative of Penelope Clearwater in England.

Seeing Harry's confusion, Billy decided to explain.

"Harry Clearwater lives down the street from here. He is one of the Tribe Elders of La Push. I think you already met his wife Sue who runs the Town Center downtown. They have two kids, Seth and Leah. Seth is still in high school while Leah just graduated this year and she doesn't have any plans of going into community college as of yet. It would be good for her to have a job until she decided to go to school again. Jacob, on the other hand, is my youngest. He should be in town with his friends, Embry and Quil, goofing around and making trouble for me." Billy added the last part with a sigh. Harry simply gave him a grin.

"Sounds good." agreed Harry. "I need a quite a few people to help me out. I need at least two or three to help clean out the beach by the property. There's a lot of driftwood so a few muscles would come in handy to clean it up. I need someone to make sure that the grounds are tended properly. Oh, I also need someone who knows their way around the garage. I just bought a truck and a car for Freya but we don't have any tools or know-how to maintain them. Hmm…I think that's it for now. How much do you think I should pay them? I'm not familiar with wages around here."

"That's a tall order. Considering the size of the place, I think you need quite a lot of people. Regarding the pay, I suggest you talk to them about that. It would teach the little kids some responsibilities. They definitely need to learn it. Are you free this afternoon?" asked Billy.

"Yes. I don't have anything to do and my sister booted me out of the house since she doesn't want me underfoot as she fixes the place up. I guess it would be best to have another female too for her to keep her company."

"Agreed. Why don't you mosey along and I'll round up the crew and the rest of the Elders. We can have a general meeting at your place and talk things over. Since we already met and welcomed you here in La Push, this would just be formality. I think you already know our custom that we treat the residents here as part of the family so we tend to get a little bit too personal."

Harry laughed.

"No problem, Billy. To be honest, I find La Push to be a friendly place. The short run I had in town before I went to the Town Center was a good experience. The people there were friendly and helpful."

"That we are. We don't get much people here in the Reservation but we treat those who live here as part of the group. Once you live here, you're automatically part of the tribe. Considering that you're a Black by blood then that would make you part of the family."

"Thanks, Billy. You don't know how happy that made me" Harry said while giving Billy a heartfelt smile. "What time will you swing by at my place?"

"Around 3:00PM. Would that be alright with you?"

"Sure. As I said, I'm free the whole day. The only errand I have is to meet with the elders and you fit the bill perfectly. Let me give you my address and mobile number just in case you need to reach me." offered Harry as he pulled out a pen and paper from his jacket and wrote down the details before handing it to Billy.

After a short farewell and a promise to visit from Billy, Harry left for the Den to inform Hermione of their visitors this afternoon.

* * *

**Finally, Harry and Hermione are now in La Push. If you are curious as to why I am adamant in putting a date and time on this fic, I'm following the Twilight Saga timeline to make sure I got the events in with a few AU's of my own creation. **

**If you're curious of the timeline, please visit this link. **

**http_:_/_/_www_._twilightlexicon_._com_/_the-lexicon_/_timeline_/**

**(just remove the underscores [_] since doesn't accept any links. **

**To those who gave their ideas on the pairings, thank you. I already made up my mind on the pairing but I won't tell you as of yet. If you really want to find out, try to match their personalities. **

**Please leave a review for suggestion or if you want to flame to your heart's content. **

**Oh, I need a beta. Anyone want to volunteer?**


	6. Meetings and Discoveries

**Note: I made some changes in Chapter 05. I forgot that I changed Hermione's new name from Anna to Freya. I made the corrections so my apologies to my readers. **

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Twilight. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 06: Meetings and Discoveries  
**

* * *

**July 18, 2005**

**12:30PM**

Harry arrived at the Den after lunch. He bought a take-out sandwich from a diner in La Push since he knew that Hermione would be hungry and he wasn't around to prepare a meal for her.

When he got home, his first thought was Billy Black.

He definitely liked the man since he reminded him a lot of Dumbledore. He looked around and saw that he needed to modify the grounds and the house a bit to make way for the Elder Black's lack of mobility. Before he went inside, he transfigured the side of the main stairs leading to the front door into a ramp. This would make it easy for the Billy to enter the house without having to be carried inside.

He entered the foyer and tried to sense Hermione. He found her a few seconds later in the attic doing some serious magic from the feel of things up there. He decided to wait for a bit to send _Prongs_ to her to inform her of their guests.

In the mean time, he needed to prepare some snacks for this afternoon so he went to the kitchen and got started. They had plenty of drinks but he lacked beer for the adults. He immediately went to the enchanted fridge and wrote his order of beer in cans, wine, and coke-in-can for the teenagers, and juices.

After he finished writing the order, the sticky note disappeared and the fridge glowed for a few seconds.

Curious, Harry opened the fridge and saw that all his orders were piled up inside the expanded space. There were a dozen beers and cokes, two bottles of wine, and some juices in their respective boxes. Harry grinned. It seemed that the store also catered to muggle beverages. It was useful if he needed supplies as soon as possible. He transferred them to the muggle fridge so he could just tell the kids later to fetch the needed drinks if they wanted more.

Happy that the drinks were ready for the guests, he took in the ingredients. After a few seconds of deliberation, he decided to make Club House sandwiches, lots of them since the there would be teenagers coming in. Harry knew that kids their age would always be hungry. He was like that once. Heck, he still was.

He closed the fridge since he would need to make the sandwiches an hour before their guests were schedule to arrive. When he excited the kitchen, he met Hermione entering the dining room.

"Hey, sis. Sorry I didn't send _Prongs_ up to inform you that I arrived. I sensed you were doing magic up there so I didn't disturb you." said Harry before dashing back to the kitchen and grabbed the take-out along with a plate before going back to the dining room and setting both down on the table in front of his surrogate sister.

"No problem, Harry…"

Harry raised a hand to interrupt her.

"I suggest that we start calling ourselves Leo and Freya. It would be good practice since we have guests visiting this afternoon." explained Harry as he seated himself in front of his sister.

Hermione nodded her agreement as she took a bite of the sandwich Harry brought for her. She found that she liked the taste.

"Alright, Leo then." Hermione/Freya said with a nod. "What do you mean we have guests coming?"

Leo told her everything that happened during his trip to La Push. Freya was excited at meeting the elders and learning more of the customs of the Quilleute Tribe. She grinned when Leo mentioned that there would be people their age coming to work on the grounds. It would be nice to make new friends, especially with the locals, since they would be living here from now on.

"Anyway, what did you do up in the Attic? I sensed major magic when I tried to look for you?" Leo asked curiously.

Freya took a bite of her sandwich before explaining.

"I placed the Attic under the modified _Fidelius_. Considering that we would be practicing our own trade up there, I want to make sure that it is well protected and undetectable. We don't want any passing witch, wizard, or magical creatures detecting our magical expenditure. My enchanting and your transmuting are too noticeable since we use a lot of power with our projects. With the modified _Fidelius_ in place, not only is the Attic's location protected, the magic coming from up there is shielded to be undetectable from the outside."

"Wow. That's amazing, Freya." exclaimed Leo in surprise. He knew that Freya was good; he just didn't know that she was already modifying known spells to suit her needs. "What do you mean by modified _Fidelius_?"

"Instead of just me knowing the secret, you are also privy to it as well. So in other words, we can both give out the location of the Attic without having to look for the other. My variant of _Fidelius_ also acts like an _illusion ward_ for the muggles. They'll know that there's an attic, they will just think of it as an ordinary part of the house and wouldn't take note of it."

"Nice." Harry said with a whistle. "How long did you come up with that one?"

"Oh, just a few hours ago." Freya said dismissively as if what she did was nothing.

Leo just gave Freya a long look.

"You scare me sometimes, you know that right?" Harry drawled.

Freya didn't bother him with a response. She just kept chewing on her sandwich with a contented and smug smile on her face.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo was finishing up the last of the Club House sandwiches he prepared for the guests when Freya called from the foyer that the La Push group was coming. Leo just rolled his eyes since he already knew that a couple of minutes ago since he could hear the alarm in his head when they tripped on the _perimeter ward_ he put up at the entrance of the path leading to the Den.

He finished plating the last of the sandwich and placed it on the large tray with the rest of the food. He carried it over to the table and summoned the drinks from the fridge, catching it one by one and placing it on the table using his reflexes honed to perfection for being a Seeker and the war.

He nodded at the arrangement in front of him and cast a cleaning charm on himself before joining Freya by the door to wait for their guests.

Two trucks came out of the path and drove to the walkway in front of the main entrance. The brown truck stopped first and the two boys riding at the back jumped down followed by another boy with long black hair coming out of the passenger seat. One of the boys too out a folded wheel chair and carried it over outside the driver seat. Leo assumed that it was for Billy.

An old man carrying an old cane came out of the back seat being supported by one of the boys riding at the back of truck. Since they looked alike, Leo assumed that the old man was either the boy's father, which was unlikely considering the man's age, or his grandfather.

Leo suspected the latter.

The next truck that parked just behind Billy's contained a party of four. Leo recognized Sue that he met in the Town Center that provided him Billy Black's address.

Leo immediately released a large smile on his face and greeted the guests.

"Welcome to Marauder's Den, or the Den for short." said Leo to the group. This earned him an amused chuckle from Billy as if he found something funny.

"Glad to be here, son." said Billy with an amused twinkle in his eyes as he was wheeled to the top of the entrance via the ramp Leo created earlier by the long-haired boy.

"Introductions can wait. Let's go inside and make ourselves comfortable." said Leo when Billy was about to introduce the group. He turned to Freya who was smiling at the La Push group. "Freya, could you take them to the living room? I'll bring out the food and drinks."

Freya nodded before ushering the group to the living room where the meeting would take place. Leo, on the other hand, dashed to the dining room to pick up the snacks. Considering that he lacked the hands, he positioned his hands and levitated the two trays one each to his waiting palm, similar to what a waiter would do when running around with multiple orders.

Grinning, he made his way to the living room where everyone was already seated. Harry noticed that the teenagers were giving his entertainment system a look of awe. He inwardly smiled since it looked like some people would be joining him breaking in his new toys.

As he approached the group, one of the boys who Leo found attractive, walked over to him offering to take one of the trays. Leo accepted the offer and both placed the trays on the table. Leo walked over the sofa and flopped down beside his surrogate sister.

"Well, since that's done. Why don't we introduce ourselves properly." said Leo followed by a nod from Freya.

Billy nodded and started introducing everyone with a little bit of finger-pointing to get the identities right.

"You already know who I am but for the benefit of your sister, my name is Billy Black." Billy started. He looked at Freya. "Please call me Billy. Sir or anything similar makes me feel old."

"You are old." the boy who pushed Billy's wheelchair commented. He shut up when Billy leveled him a glare.

"Where was I before I was _rudely_ interrupted…oh yes; the one beside me is Quil Atera, Sr." Billy pointed to the old man with a cane who gave Leo and Freya a grandfatherly smile.

"The couple on the other sofa is Harry Clearwater and his wife, Sue. I think Leo already met here in the Town Center?"

Leo nodded and smiled at the couple with nod followed by Freya.

"We four are the elders of the Quilleute Tribe here in the La Push Reservation. Next let me introduce the kids. The boy with the bad mouth is my son Jacob."

Jacob gave Leo and Freya a boyish grin which Leo immediately returned. He liked the boy if his grin was anything to go by.

"The three who are drooling over your wide screen television are Seth, the shortest one, followed by Quil, yes I know, he has the same name as his grandfather, and we have Embry Call."

The three boys waved at Leo and Freya who just grinned at them in amusement. The three reminded the duo of the twins.

"Finally, we have Leah Clearwater, she is the eldest in the group." Billy finished the introduction pointing at Leah who was sitting beside Sue with a tight smile on her face.

"Nice to meet all of you and again, I welcome you to the Marauder's Den. I'm Leo Black." Everyone except Billy eyed him curiously since they had the same family name as Jacob and Billy. "And this is my sister, Freya Black."

"I'm happy to meet you all. As my brother said, welcome to Marauder's Den." said Hermione leveling everyone in the group with a smile though Leo was sure that the smile held something more. He made a mental note to ask her later.

"I know you're all dying to ask us questions but please enjoy the food and drinks." offered Leo before looking at the teenagers. "Underage people, hands off the beer, juice and coke only."

Leo almost laughed at the four sets of puppy-dog eyes directed at him.

"That won't work on me boys, save that for someone who'll fall for it. Now eat." Leo stressed the last part which practically what broke the dam of control from the kids. They immediately fell on the plate of sandwiches like a pack of hungry wolves. From the way they were acting, he wasn't far off the mark. Leah was more sedate in her desire to eat but Leo could see that she was trying to control herself. He inwardly chuckled at their antics. This group would fit right in with his family.

"So while the boys are demolishing the food, why don't the elders start with the questions and we'll try our best to answer them." offered Harry as he took a coke and gave it a sip.

The elders nodded in agreement. The opening salvo came from Quil Sr.

"How old are you both?"

"I'm 23, going 24 this coming 31st. Freya here is older than me. She's going 25 this coming September." answered Leo as if already expecting the question to be asked. It was uncommon for two teens to be living on their own even if they were already at the age to do so.

Quil Sr. nodded at the answer. They were old enough to live on their own and supervision was not necessary. His next salvo was launched.

"What brings you here in La Push?"

"We came from England and decided to relocate here to get away from the memories surrounding us in our previous home." replied Leo with a small smile.

"Memories?" asked Sue Clearwater.

"You see, I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was 15 months old and left under the care of my relatives. We didn't really get along but they gave me a place to live. After I finished school and came of age, I was given my inheritance so I was more or less independent. Freya lost her parents when they were murdered by some terrorists back in England 6 years ago. We were best friends ever since we met and I couldn't leave her alone since she doesn't have any family left so we practically adopted each other. I gave her my family name and added her to the rolls of my family." explained Leo while Freya just gave Sue a sad smile who returned it.

"I'm sorry for bringing up painful memories." Sue apologized to Freya who just shook her head.

"It happened a long time ago. I already got over itm but sometimes their absence makes me sad. Leo here had been my anchor ever since and glad that he was there for me." said Freya, accepting Sue's apology. Leah mellowed out a bit and gave Freya a smile of her own which Freya returned.

Leo engulfed Freya in a one-armed hug to help calm her down. She returned the gesture by giving him a small squeeze. This little bout of affection didn't escape the eyes of the elders and the teens in the room. Despite the fact that these two weren't blood family, they acted like one. They supported each other and survived their ordeal. They were definitely mature in their eyes.

"Well, I can only say welcome to La Push, Leo, Freya, and I hope that you find your perfect home in our company. Our doors are always open to you. Just give us a call and we'll come anytime." offered Harry Clearwater. Everyone in the La Push group nodded at this and gave the duo a smile.

Leo and Freya returned it with one of their own, a true smile that they rarely show outside the people who they considered as friends or family.

"Thank you, Mr. Clearwater." said Leo and Freya together which caused them to look at each other and smiled.

"Please, same with Billy, call me Harry." said Harry before releasing an amused chuckle.

"Call me, Sue." offered Sue to the duo. Leo and Freya could see that she would be a motherly presence to the both of them.

"Old man Quil for me. Sir makes me feel older." Quil Sr. huffed at the pun to himself. This caused Leo and Freya to give the old man a huge grin which he readily returned with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Thanks you Harry, Sue, old man Quil." said Freya and gave the three her real smile.

"So, now that the formalities are done, why don't you start your proposition for the kids here." said Billy pointing to the four boys and one girl demolishing the sandwiches Leo made with abandon. From the looks of it, Leah abandoned her control and joined the boys in the carnage.

"As you can see, the Den is quite large. Even if the house is already fixed to perfection, the grounds needs a little bit of work, though a few stuff just got delivered yesterday and Freya here needs some help putting everything to rights. If I could contract the kids to work for us here in the Den. They will be paid 100 dollars a day."

"WHAT!" came the shout from the five teens in the room.

"That's a lot of money, dear." said Sue in concern as she eyed the teens who were looking at Leo and Freya as if they were the second coming of God.

"Not really, Sue. You see, if we hire people in Seattle to work for us. It would cost us a lot more, basic salary and transportation. Instead of paying outsiders to work for us, Freya and I found it better to let the La Push kids earn a living. Money spent on the Reservation is money used by the Reservation. Everyone's happy." explained Leo then a mischievous grin crossed his face. "Besides, I plan to make sure that the kids earn it."

Old Man Quil barked a loud laugh before addressing the grinning teen.

"That you should, my boy that you should."

Leo nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, don't worry about the money. I own a lot of businesses and I'm earning without doing anything. If you want, you can consider this as my contribution to the community. Before I forget, since Freya and I are now part of the community, make sure that you ask us if you need any help. We would be more than happy too."

"Thank you, Leo, Freya." Billy said with a thankful nod. "Your offer is accepted. So what do you want the kids to do?"

"Let me see, Freya…do you think Leah would be able to help you put things away. There are still quite a lot of boxes we haven't unpacked yet." Leo asked Freya who had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Her help would be gladly appreciated, that is if it alright with her." Freya said, giving Leah a questioning look. Since they were doing things the muggle way, an extra pair of hands would be a great help.

"Sure. I would be more than happy to help you, Freya." said Leah, brightening at the prospect of bonding with another girl considering what happened to her. Plus, earning 100 bucks a day was a rare offer even in the city.

"Then you're hired. Leah would be Freya's personal helper in the house." said Leo, sealing the deal. "Next, I need someone who's good with cars and tools."

Jacob raised his hand in excitement.

"I'm the man for the job. What do you need?" Jacob asked in excitement. This was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. Not only would he be paid big money to work, he would be working on things that he liked.

"Well, Freya and I had a garage out back with nothing in it except for the cars we bought – a Ford F150 and a Ford Orange Fiesta if you're curious – and I need someone to help me buy the tools needed to keep them in shape and make sure that they stay in shape. I want the garage to have a complete list of tools and supplies. Money is not a problem."

Jacob looked at him as if he was crazy.

"From the sound of it, you plan to buy the whole store down in Seattle." Jacob exclaimed in an incredulous voice.

"Sounds about right." Leo nodded with a grin.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Jacob asked looking at Leo as if he was crazy.

"No, that's my godfather's name. I'm Leo. But yes, I am serious about buying stuff for the garage." said Leo with a mischievous grin causing Freya to whack him on the head.

"Enough with the Sirius-Serious pun, Leo. It's no longer funny." Freya chided him. Really, could his surrogate brother ever come up with something new?

Leo pouted and gave her a mock-glare before controlling himself and turned to see an amused Jacob looking at him with an expectant look on his face.

"Yes, Jacob, I am quite serious about it. Are you free tomorrow to go down to Forks, Port Angeles, or Seattle to buy everything we need?"

Jacob adopted a thoughtful look on his face.

"I don't think Forks and Port Angeles would have everything we need. I suggest we take a trip to Seattle since I know a store beside a dealership that sells all the parts and tools for the cars you mentioned."

"Good. I'll leave it in your capable hands then. Let's talk later about the time." offered Leo getting a nod from Jacob. "Let me see, I need someone to tend the grounds. The forest surrounding the Den needs to be checked and cleaned out. I need some boys to be my eyes in there and assess the area for dangers."

"Hmmm…Quil and Embry would be perfect for that one. Since you already have a job for Jacob then these two are the best ones for the job. They practically live in the woods." said Old Man Quil getting a vigorous nod from the Embry and Quil.

"Understood. Wait…they're still going to school right?" asked Leo in concern. He didn't want the boys to skip school just to earn money. That would be counter-productive.

"No need to worry. School ended a month ago so they're free until September 6." said Sue since she was part of the School Board of the Quilleute Tribal School.

"Great. I was somewhat worried about that. So, Embry, Quil…ready to start tomorrow?" asked Leo to the two boys.

"Sure." answered Quil.

"We're at your shervice, mashter." lisped Embry getting a whack on the shins from Old Man Quil's cane. "Watch it old man."

"Do you want another one?" Old Man Quil threatened the boy, raising his cane to emphasize his point

Embry gulped and stepped back out of range of the painful cane.

"Nope. I'm good." said Embry while eyeing the cane with trepidation. He had too many experience with that cane and wouldn't want to add more to it.

Leo gave the duo an amused chuckle and gave the expectant Seth a look.

"Considering you're the youngest, I have a very important job for you. You will be accompanying me and Jacob tomorrow to Seattle. We are going to drop you off at the mall. I want you to buy anything you would need to turn this entertainment system into something that would make everyone drool." said Leo with an excited grin on his face.

All the boys turned in unison to look at the very large wide screen television and the entertainment system before eyes going into a daze, as if imagining their own version of the perfect entertainment system.

Freya just groaned and palmed her face. Leah just gave her shoulder a pat to tell her that she understood what she's going through.

"Everything?" Seth asked in awe.

"Yes, everything." Harry said firmly with a nod to emphasize his point. Seth's face turned from awe into glee. "Since we already have the television and the basic entertainment package, I want you to buy out anything that we would need. DVDs, game consoles and cartridges, the works."

"That's a lot of money." said Seth who was looking at Leo as if he wanted to adopt him as his brother.

"I have a lot of money." Leo shot back with a grin which was later mimicked by Seth. "I didn't enjoy much of my childhood so I'm going to start now. I'll give you the money you need tomorrow and shop till you drop."

Seth nodded excitedly while Quil, Embry, and Jacob were swearing for getting boring jobs.

"Hmmm...do you have some more kids that would be more than happy to clean up the beach? There's a lot of driftwood there that needs cleaning up and if they can do some construction job to spice up the place then that would be good too." Leo asked Billy who was thoughtful on his request.

"I could always ask Sam, Jared, and Paul to lend a hand."

"Who're they?" asked Leo in confusion.

"Three of the few teenagers in La Push who served as our police force; watching out for the kids who are too rowdy." answered Billy though Leo and Freya could tell that he wasn't telling them everything. If they were keeping secrets then it was fine by the duo since they were keeping one from them as well.

"That's good. Why don't you ask them to come over tomorrow so I could make a deal with them?" said Leo in excitement.

Billy nodded and promised to tell the trio to drop by tomorrow and see Leo.

Once all the responsibilities were relegated to the kids; Leo and Freya showed everyone the house, except for the attic of course.

While they were showing off, Freya showed Leah what needed to be done. After showing her the boxes stacked in the library containing all the books she bought, she joked that she needed to live here to help her out since it would take quite a while to finish the library alone.

Freya immediately pounced on the idea and offered Leah to use one of the guest rooms in the second floor for her use. She also invited the rest of the teens to stay over if their work demanded it. The boys eagerly nodded at the offer.

Leo liked Freya's idea since it would be nice for the Den to have people in it. The house was boring with only him and Freya in it.

After covering the house, they went out to the grounds to check the place out. Sue commented that it needed a few more flowers to spice things up which Freya immediately agreed. She told Sue that she would be commandeering Leah to help her find suitable plants to put into the garden once they were done with the house. When they reached the beach, the boys immediately leveled Leo their best puppy-dog eyes.

Knowing their intention, he gave them permission causing all the boys cheer and immediately take off their shirts and jeans, leaving them only in their boxers and briefs before jumping to the cold waters of First Beach.

Anna, Leah, and Sue palmed their faces at the childish actions, which they practically forgot that they _were_ dealing with kids.

Harry Clearwater, Billy, and old man Quil was looking at the boys with longing on their faces. Leo almost laughed after seeing their faces.

Leo just looked on in amusement but he couldn't help admire the physique of the boys. They were well muscled for their age which all Quilleute boys seemed to share and he saw a lot of them during his short tour of La Push. However, these four were gifted in that department and Leo could help but assume that they would still grow into handsome men when they grow up.

He wasn't a pervert, far from it, but how could he deny himself in looking if the offer was presented to him. He was eyeing Embry, however, since the boy had something that nagged at him. He would look into that later since Freya was also looking at Seth with something in her eyes as well.

Leo asked the men to check out the beach on what needed to be done before excusing himself to get towels for the boys. He went back into the foyer and conjured four fluffy white towels and some robes if the boys didn't want to go immediately into their clothes. He knew that Freya bought some but he didn't have the patience to check out the boxes one by one just to find them.

When he got back to the beach, he saw that the grown-ups made themselves comfortable on a few driftwood scattered around the beach. Leo placed the towels and robes in a large stone and walked over to them to join their conversation.

It was around 5:20PM that the boys finally had their fun and exited the water. Leo offered them the robes and towels but the boys just took the latter, toweling themselves down while exchanging stories of their fun in the water. Leo made a mental note to join them in the future once all the work was done.

Leo offered them to stay for dinner which they readily agreed. He was joined in the kitchen by Leah, Sue, and Freya while the boys and men were enjoying his entertainment system, tuning to a ball game which caused a lot of cheering coming out of the living room.

It was an hour later when the dining table was filled to the brim with food. Thanks to the extra help and the complete kitchen, they were able to prepare the food in record-breaking time. Leo was worried that they might have made too much but his worry disappeared when he saw the boys tearing into the food like ravenous wolves. Again, Leo couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.

After the cleaning up, the Quilleutes decided to call it a night and thanked Leo and Freya hospitality. Before leaving, they exchanged numbers except for the boys and Leah since they didn't have any phone with them. Leo made a mental note to acquire units for them so he could maintain contact just in case he needed something done.

He knew that he was being very generous but he couldn't help it. There was something about the Quilleutes that he liked. He could sense a feeling of belonging around them that touched him. Despite the short visit, Leo, and Freya from the way she was smiling at everyone, already considered them a part of their rather small list of families.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So what do you think?" Leo asked Freya as they made themselves comfortable in the living room. It didn't take long for him to finish cleaning the dishes since he did it magically.

"I like them." Freya admitted honesty obvious on her face. "However, there's something that's bothering me."

"Oh?" asked Leo curiously.

"Did you read the book on Quilleute Legends?"

"Nope." Leo admitted with a sheepish smile on his face. Freya rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Let me give you a summary. According to the book, the Quilleutes were descended from wolves, which gave them the ability to change into huge wolves. The story in the legends tells the readers that the Spirit Wolves, as they called themselves, serve as protectors of the tribe against something that they termed as a Cold One."

"Your point?" asked Leo, not getting where his sister was getting to.

"When I met them the first time, my magic immediately reached out to them. It is an automatic thing for Enchantress since I was trained to automatically sense magic around me. They have small amounts of magic in their bodies. Something that is similar to a squib. However, their magic was primal, like an animal waiting to be released. It is particularly strong in Jacob, Embry, Quil, Seth, and Leah. They don't have enough to cast spells even with a wand but it is enough for something else."

"So you're saying that the Quilleutes have the power to change into wolves? Like werewolves?" asked Leo incredulously.

"No. They're not werewolves." Freya disagreed with her brother's assessment. "They're auras are different. Perenelle showed me around the werewolf clans in France and I was able to memorize their auras. No, the Quilleutes are different. It is something similar to an animagus."

Leo had a thoughtful frown on his face.

"Hmmm…Billy told me that the Blacks here in La Push were descended from the English Blacks that migrated here back in the 1600s. It is possible that some of the magic got degenerated or evolved to what it is now. Maybe the combination of the Quilleute blood replaced the wizarding magic with something else. You're on to something there, Freya."

"That is possible. We might want to look into the Black Family history to discover what really happened back then. You might want to contact Liverwhacker to send you the journals from the Black Vault. There might be something there that would shed light to this mystery. However, the only problem now would be to determine if they are dangerous or not."

Leo immediately disagreed.

"I don't think that is the case, Freya. If that was the case then there would be reports picked up by Spleensmash when we asked him to investigate the place. Goblins are nothing but thorough when it comes to their clients, more so with Spleensmash who has a deep respect for me. Billy also mentioned earlier that three of the teens he will be sending us tomorrow are called 'protectors'. It is too much of a coincidence to name the three from their legends."

Freya nodded in agreement.

"So I guess all we can do now is to play the waiting game."

"Correct. If they really are dangerous then Billy would have warned us and I don't detect any fear from the people while I was touring the town." said Leo before something clicked in his mind. "You mentioned something about these 'Cold Ones' that was the mortal enemy of the Spirit Wolves. Did the book describe them?"

Freya nodded before adopting a thoughtful look on her face as she recalled the entirety of the legend using her _Occlumency_.

"The Cold Ones in the book referred to a woman of unearthly beauty who attacked the tribe while they were young. The woman was strong, stronger than the Spirit Wolves and it took all their combined strength to put her down." Freya recited the facts describing the Cold One in the book.

"Not much to work on…anything else?" asked Leo, wanting to get to the bottom of this since he instinctively knew that it was important.

"They have red eyes and…and…bloody hell. They drink blood." exclaimed Freya, finally realizing what the Cold Ones are.

Leo face turned grim.

"Vampires." said Leo with a cold tone in his voice. A tone that Freya knew was his 'battle mode'. Leo in this state was a veritable one-man-army. "So this would mean that the emergence of the Spirit Wolves in the current generation means that the vampires are in their lands."

Freya nodded and continued her brother's assessment.

"Spleensmash told us that there were reports of vampires in the area. So this means…" Freya trailed off which Leo immediately picked up.

"If the vampire population in Washington grows then we can be sure that it would trigger the Old Magic powering the change in the Quilleutes which would turn some of them into wolves." Leo finished.

"A shapeshifter." exclaimed Freya as she remembered some facts from the book she read in the Flamel Library on mythical creatures after she discovered Leo's animagus form. "But in their case, they shift or phase into wolves. Large wolves if the story is to be believed. And if the vampire population increases…"

"Then we can be sure that our four new friends would be shifting as well. We need to make plans. If such a thing does happen then it might be necessary to reveal ourselves to them."

"Are you sure that is wise, Leo?" Freya asked worriedly. Leo simply nodded, grim look on his face intensified.

"I already consider them as family, Freya, and I know you do too. It would be safe to say that we would be doing our best to defend the Quilleutes when the vampires come a knocking." Leo stated as fact.

Freya's face turned grim and there was a deadly glint in her eyes. Leo saw this and understood.

If vampire ever comes to their doorstep, then they would be facing two pissed off Battle Scholars who would just love to turn them into ash.

* * *

**End of chapter 6.**

**Note that starting from this fic onwards, Harry will be Leo Black and Hermione as Freya Black. (I changed Anna to Freya since I needed a name that would reflect her animagus form)**

**Anyway, regarding the pairings, I think you already had an idea as to who they would be paired with.**

**To those who don't want to read because its Yaoi, sorry if you don't like it. This is my story so I'll write it the way I want to.**

**Besides, I don't think someone like me could ever do a Male/Female pairing. He he he he he.**


	7. Meeting of Powers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Twilight. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 07: Meeting of Powers**

* * *

**July 19, 2005**

**7:30AM**

Leo woke up from a trouble sleep. He yawned tiredly as he made his way to his bathroom for a morning shower to wake him up.

He wasn't able to sleep well thanks to the discussion he had with his sister concerning the vampires. Both vowed to protect the Quilleutes with everything they had but they needed to keep a wait-and-see approach since they wouldn't want to prematurely reveal their secrets, as well as telling the elders that they knew that the legends were true.

As the water hit his face, Leo realized that the five teens that he was starting to consider as family might be phasing soon if the vampire population in Washington increased. They couldn't do anything to stop that since directly attacking the vampires might be a prelude to a battle he and Freya wouldn't want to be in. Sure they could take care of themselves but there was a possibility of collateral damage.

Also, such a large battle would result in them being discovered in their new home. They took care of the loose ends to make sure that their stay in La Push would be a complete secret. Heck, they didn't even connect to a _floo network_ so they couldn't be traced.

It was around 8:00AM that he came out of the shower and put on his chosen clothes of the day, tight blue shirt showing off his well-muscled frame and tight grey jeans. He pulled out a black jacket from his wardrobe and slung it over his shoulder as he made his way down to prepare breakfast. Since Freya wasn't knocking on his door looking for food then she must still be asleep.

Placing the jacket on the living room couch, he went to the kitchen to see what he could cook up for breakfast. He was halfway there when his phone rang. Checking out the caller ID, he saw that it was Billy Black. He pressed the button accepting the call and answered.

"Leo Black." was his simple answer.

"_Leo?"_

"Good morning, Billy. Old people like you should sleep in you know." Leo joked. He was comfortable enough with the elder to do so.

"_Ha ha. Very funny._" came the sarcastic reply. _"Anyway, joking aside, I already contacted Sam. He agreed with your project and would be coming over at 9:00AM. Is that ok?"_

"Sure. That would be great. I don't have a set time with Jacob and Seth. Speaking of which, what time would those two be coming over?" asked Leo.

"_I think around 10. Jacob had some errands to run for me and Seth would be doing the same for Harry as well. So yeah, they should be there by 10."_ Billy answered.

"Great. I'll be waiting then." Leo realized something. "Do you think Sam and the rest will be eating breakfast?"

He heard Billy laugh on the other line.

"_You're starting to read them like a book. The amount you saw the boys eat yesterday pales to what Sam, Paul, and Jared could eat. Those three are buffet monsters." _admitted Billy.

"Is that so then I better prepare breakfast then." Leo said in an amused voice. He always did like a challenge. "Anything else, Billy?"

"_Nah. That's all squirt. Take care of the boys for me when you got to Seattle."_ Billy said in a serious voice.

"You have my solemn promise that they'll be safe with me, Billy." Leo replied just as serious.

"_I trust you and Freya, Leo. Well, good bye for now. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."_

"Back at you, old timer. Bye now."

The call ended from Billy's end with Leo looking at the phone with an amused look on his face. Billy need not worry, he would protect those two with his life. Remembering the elder's warning regarding the 'buffet monsters', he decided to start if they were coming around in an hour. Since he was pressed for time, he might need to cheat a bit.

_-x-x-x-x-x-_

Leo's _perimeter alarm_ alerted him to his visitors. Perfect timing too since he just finished preparing a huge batch of extra large English Breakfast that could easily accommodate eight people with supersized appetites. He set aside a portion for Seth and Jacob, while leaving the rest on the table for the trio.

Cleaning up the mess with a wave of his hand, Leo pulled off the apron he was wearing and draped it over the counter before walking out to meet his guests.

Waiting just outside the main entrance, Leo saw a black pick-up truck drive down the large pathway to the front of the Den. Three people came out and Leo bugged out at the size of these people.

He was tall, 6'3, and proud of it. But he was dwarfed by one of the three, though he was quite sure that the other two were 6' at least. Leo was muscular lean, built like a swimmer or a runner; these three had muscles on their muscles. The tallest of the group walked in front with the other two was a step behind him. Leo immediately noticed the significance of the formation - an Alpha and his Wingmen, or in this case, Wingwolf.

"Welcome to the Marauder's Den, or the Den for short." Leo was getting tired of saying that. "So I take it you're Sam, Jared, and Paul?"

The leader of the group offered a hand to Leo who immediately took it and gave it a shake. Leo could feel the calloused palm which signified that this was a man of the soil, a worker and a leader. He made a mental note of the heightened body temperature for Freya later.

"The name's Sam Uley." introduced the obvious leader of the group and pointed out the two guys behind him while giving out their names. . "These are my friends, Paul and Jared."

"Nice to meet you Sam, Jared, Paul." greeted Leo with a smile which was returned by the three, though Paul's smile looked a bit strained. "Before we get down to business, why don't you grab a bite of breakfast first. Billy told me that you guys eat extra large portions so I made sure to make enough to satisfy a group of sumo wrestlers."

He got a laugh from the three of them and Paul's laugh was natural instead of being forced.

Leo guided them to the dining room where Jared took one look at the food on the table.

"What the hell is that?" exclaimed Jared at the drool-worthy breakfast on the table. The size of the meal definitely caught their attention but the fact that made their stomach rumble was the type of food on the plates.

"That is what I lovingly call a Full English Breakfast that is quite common in England. Though I made these batches bigger because Billy warned me of your appetites and judging from your bodies, I guess you definitely need all that food." said Leo with an amused expression on his face. "Anyway, to answer your question Jared, what you see on the plates is what incorporates a Full English Breakfast – bacon, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, butter-fried mushrooms, toasted bread with butter, sausages, baked beans, and mashed potatoes. Since I don't think you lot liked tea, I made coffee and juice so take your pick."

"Wow! You made all these?" asked Sam, looking at the food on the table with undisguised longing.

"Yes. I'm quite talented in the kitchen." admitted Leo while buffering his fingers on his shirt. "Well, dig in. Eat your fill and we can talk afterwards."

Sam, Jared, and Paul immediately attacked the food on the table, which incidentally, was similar to the boys yesterday. Leo immediately noted them down since he knew that the boys would be phasing soon. These three, however, already phased judging by their physique. Billy said yesterday that these three were teens, but if you don't know their proper ages then you could easily mistake them as adults.

Grabbing his own plate, he started to join the group but stayed silent since the boys were busy eating to talk. It was 10 minutes later that all the food on the table disappeared. Leo mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done. A cook's greatest happiness was to see the food they made enjoyed by the public. From the contented looks on the trio's faces, they more than enjoyed it.

"I hope you found the food to your liking?" asked Leo though he already knew of the answer.

"Man! You can cook." exclaimed Paul before releasing a rather loud burp. He gave everyone a sheepish grin. "Oops."

"Thank you, Paul. I'm happy that you found my cooking to your liking. If you guys are going to accept my proposal then it would be safe to say that you would be a regular during breakfast, lunch, and dinner time around here. I need to increase the amount of food I'll be getting for you guys. Seth, Jacob, Embry, Quil, and Leah already eats a lot. Add that the tree of you…I think I need to get another fridge." Leo said wryly.

"That would be a safe bet." said Jared with a grin. He definitely liked the newcomer. He could cook too which is a plus for him.

"So, what is this project that Billy told us about?." Sam asked in a business-like tone.

Leo nodded and started explaining what he wanted.

"As you can see, the grounds around Marauder's Den are quite extensive, stretching all the way down to a private beach which is an extension of what you call First Beach. Now, my stretch of paradise isn't looking like a paradise at all. I asked Billy if I could contract someone to work for me to make my paradise a reality."

"What are we talking about here?" asked Sam curiously. "Give us something to work on."

"I have a better idea. Why don't we go down to the beach and I'll describe what I want." offered Leo getting a nod of agreement from the trio.

They all walked down to the beach and Leo started telling them what he liked to happen.

"As you can see, it's not really that clean right now. If you accept my offer, I want you guys to clean up the beach and design it in a way that would make it something similar to a resort. You don't have to throw away the driftwood since those can be used to add a little design to the place. I want a nice place for a bonfire, some huts for people to stay and sleep on. Or maybe some benches or two for people to sit on instead of squatting down on the sand. Since I am expecting Billy to be coming down here a lot, I want you to make sure that he could wheel himself here anytime without having to ask someone to give him a push."

Sam looked around trying to assess what Leo told him.

"That is very doable." admitted Sam and gave Leo a wry look. "But it's going to be expensive."

"Give me an estimate, Sam." asked Leo. He already had a budget for the whole thing and the money was in a muggle wallet in his back pocket. He just wanted to know how professional Sam was when it came to work.

"Hmmm…we could use the driftwood as materials for some of the ideas you had in mind. We need to bring in some hardwood for the cottages and chairs since ordinary wood won't last long in this humidity. From the size of the beach, we can put up two cottages, three of those umbrella cottages for those who wanted to lie down on the sand, four benches lined up here near the woods. A walkway for Billy would be easy since we can use some cement on that and connect it to the driveway." explained Sam as he mentally ticked on the things Leo wanted. "I would guess around 7,000 bucks for the materials. We can charge you a day for the labor…like 80 bucks."

Leo nodded and pulled out the wallet and threw it a surprised Sam.

"There's 10,000 dollars on that wallet. Use it as you see fit. If there's some left then you can divide that between the three of you."

"Whoah! That's some serious money there, dude." exclaimed Jared eyeing the fat wallet in awe.

"He's right, Leo. I don't think it's a good idea to waste money like that." said Sam, trying to give the wallet back to Leo.

Leo just shook his head and gave Sam a smile.

"Sam, as I told Billy yesterday, money spent on the Reservation is money used by the Reservation. I already consider this place as my home and the Quilleutes as family. If you don't want to divide the leftovers, then do something for the community with it. Heck, you can even make a playground if you wanted to. Just take the money and do your best. Alright?"

Leo said that with so much sincerity that Sam couldn't even refute the statement. He just nodded and gave Leo a respectful nod.

"Fine. You win." Sam said with a sigh. "Me and the guys will check out the materials. Once we have everything then we can get started."

Leo nodded and smiled at the trio.

"No problem. Take all the time you need. Me and my sister will be here for a very long time. Heck we plan to get old here in La Push." Leo said with a grin mimicked by Jared and Paul. "Well, if that's everything then I'll leave you guys to it. I'll give you and my sister's number just in case you have questions or needs additional funds."

Leo pulled out his phone and started storing their numbers. He gave the trio his and Freya's so they could contact the both of them if there was need.

Leo and the trio went their separate ways once they entered the Den's entrance. The trio piled into Sam's truck and drove out with Leo looking at them with an amused look on his face.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was around 10:30AM when Jacob and Seth arrived. Both apologized profusely for being late though Leo just dismissed it and told them that he wasn't in a hurry. The boys were still a bit surly for being so Leo just ushered them to the dining room where he brought them their share of breakfast. Thankfully, he placed them under a warming charm so it was still steaming hot as if it just came out of the oven. The two immediately smiled like a loon when they saw the food and immediately attacked.

Freya came down later and looked at the two Quilleute boys with an amused smile on her face. Leo stood up from his perch and ushered his sister to a seat before going to the kitchen to grab her plate that he let inside the oven. He also grabbed a large mug of coffee, just in case. He delivered the food and got a simple thank you before Freya dug in.

When the two boys were finished with their food, Leo ushered them to his pick up and drove out of the Den towards Seattle while enjoying 20 questions with the boys.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Thanks to Leo's being a speed freak, they easily arrived in Seattle in a record-breaking time of 3 hours with Jacob and Seth cheering him on as he maneuvered the pick up around the cars, easily overtaking them. They weren't called to the side by traffic officers since Leo placed a _repelling charm_ against them so they sped off unmolested.

Their first stop was to drop off Seth at the mall with instructions to browse around to find everything he needed for the entertainment system back at the Den. They didn't immediately leave since Jacob was giving the young Quilleute some last minute instructions on what to get. Five minutes later, Leo and Jacob left a happy Seth sprinting into the mall with a goofy grin on his face.

Jacob guided Leo to a shop he knew was selling all the items they needed for the garage. After a little bit of looking around, Leo told Jacob to pick everything he needed since he needed to leave him for a bit to buy something from the other shop. He promised to be back in ten minutes. Just to drive his point home, Leo told the salesman to accommodate Jacob's choices until he comes back.

Leo immediately left the store and went down a dark alley where he _apparated_ to Merlin's Street. He made his way to the shop selling enchanted muggle electronics and acquired 5 more units of mobile phones for the teens. He asked the store owner that he would be buying those without the power enchantment since muggles would be using them. He paid a year's subscription for those units and shrunk the boxes before placing them in his pocket. He would give the two to Seth and Jacob later when they get back on the truck.

Once that errand was done, Leo left with a silent crack before appearing in the same alley he used to hide his _apparition_.

Leo entered the store finding Jacob helping the store clerk move some of the heavy tools to the counter to be rung up. They stayed in the shop for half an hour more before Jacob was happy with the items he purchased. Leo just gave Jacob an amused look as he handed his Gringotts Card to the person manning the counter. He didn't even blink when the shaky teller handed Leo his receipt. He just smiled and placed the receipt in his back pocket.

Considering that they would still need to pick up Seth, Leo decided to just leave the items they purchased in the care of the store to be picked up later. Jacob immediately agreed and the two of them left for the mall to meet up with young Clearwater.

It was 10 minutes later that they arrived at the store and another 10 to find Seth. Both were amused to see the boy running around the store checking out consoles and their respective game. Once they got the boy's attention, Leo told Seth to lead the way to buy everything he wanted for the living room back at home.

First, Seth took the both of them to a DVD store where 3 boxes of movies were waiting for them. Leo immediately paid for it much to the surprise of the manager while making a mental note to ask Sam and his gang of wolves to make a shelf for him to showcase his new movies. Leo couldn't wait to get started on them and from the looks Jacob and Seth were sporting; they were in for the ride as well.

Due to the size of the boxes of DVDs, Leo commandeered a trolley for them since they would still be buying from different stores before they leave.

The next stop was a store that specializes in speakers. According to Seth, which Jacob was in agreement of, the speakers he had were of low quality. So to compensate for the lack, they needed to buy additional speakers to make it more worthwhile. The duo called it Surround Sound much to his confusion. One box later, the trio left for the game store where they found Seth the first time.

Seth picked out two games console – a PS2 and an XBOX 360 – as well as a slew of games that filled up two boxes. Leo knew that they wouldn't be able to play them all but he had a lifetime to do so. From the looks of it, both boys had their own preference in games. Jacob liked fighting and racing games. Seth, on the other hand, preferred adventure and Role-Playing Games. Leo assumed that he would be interested in the latter since it was a challenge for the mind.

Before they left the mall, the trio bought some food to tide them over until dinner. Leo bought a burger, fries, and large coke, while the two had similar orders but they bought three for each. He made a mental note to stock up on food in the Den when the two phased to wolves. The food bill would be astronomical but he didn't care. He was having fun when he saw people having fun because of him.

When they left Seattle for home, Leo pulled out the two boxes of mobile phones from the glove compartment that he stored there earlier and gave them to Seth and Jacob. He told them that he wanted to make sure that he could contact them anytime if he needed anything. He also informed them that he also bought units for Leah, Embry, and Quil; and that the phones were already paid for unlimited use for a year.

Considering what they knew of Leo during their short meeting with him, he was generous to a fault and wouldn't take no for an answer, so the two boys just thanked him for the gifts.

Leo just gave them a huge smile for it.

Leo was taking a break from all the studying back at the Den. After the hubbub died down, he and Freya settled down to an easy schedule.

They would sleep in until 10 in the morning, wake up and have fun with the Quilleute group most of the day. Study would start in the Attic once everyone was asleep which were usually around 9 or 10 in the evening, and stay late immersed in their own studies until 4am before going to bed.

It worked like a charm.

After the first week of getting to know each other better, the group settled down into a routine that can be easily described as normal. He and Freya treated the boys like family and both acted like Mother Hens though both held secret crushes for some of their charges.

This was one thing that confused him. When he told his sister during one of their sessions in the Attic of his unnatural attraction to Embry, Freya also admitted of having the same thing with the younger Seth. Both were confused as to why but chalked it up to their magical make-up and the wolf genes in the boys.

They would wait and see what would happen AFTER they phased since their inner magic would be active by then.

Speaking of the boys, everyone had their own special role in the Den. They weren't paid everyday only if they had a job to do. The boys and Leah weren't greedy, far from it; they admitted that they liked hanging out with the English Blacks - as they were being called by the Native Blacks.

Leah was now a stay-in in the Den. She practically moved in with him and Freya when she started to bond with her sister while cataloging the new books to be stored in the library. While she was working, Freya was slowly weaning her for college, improving her interest in books which would give her an edge once she planned to take higher education. In some days, he could see Freya and Leah having a lazy discussion in the library concerning biology or geography. Her sister might not be turning Leah into a bookworm but she was getting there.

Seth became his personal assistant. After his first job of improving the entertainment system in the living room, which he did a great job by the way; he showed an interest in Leo's cooking. This was the reason why the boy was now accompanying him like a dog, excuse the pun. Since Leo saw that Seth's interest in cooking was genuine, he started teaching the boy the rudiment of cooking, like what makes a kitchen tick, how to slice properly, spices that makes or breaks a dish, and so on. Seth soaked it up like a sponge. It was to Sue's surprise that Seth started cooking at home and most of the dishes turned out great. Not as great as his but he was getting there.

Embry and Quil's job was easily done in three days. Checking out the forest was easy for the two since both of them practically grew up in the woods. According to old man Quil, Embry and Quil had always loved the outdoors and their survival skills proved it. They could survive for three days camping out in the woods without bringing supplies. Once the duo reported the various animals in the forest and deemed it safe, Leo gave them the job of helping Freya and Leah improve the gardens. They became their carry-boys especially when they have to go to town to purchase seedlings or plants. Sometimes, they would go and help Sam and his 'pack' fixing up the beach. There weren't as strong as the trio but they were a big help.

Jacob became Leo's mechanic and tutor in the rudiments of machines. After sorting through the various tools they bought in Seattle, Jacob immediately started teaching him how they were used. This eventually branched off into learning about cars in general. His Ford F150 was used to show him which parts were which and how they interacted with each other. For him, Jacob was an amazing mechanic and a great teacher. If he so wished, the boy could put up a garage and rake in money with his skills alone. Jacob's current project was fixing his godfather's motorcycle. Freya already took the enchantment off it but made a note of how they worked just in case they wanted to put it back on. His goal was to make sure that it ran without magic since Jacob told him succinctly that the bike was a bust but could be repaired if they had the right parts. Without another word or prompting, he just gave Jacob a wallet loaded with cash and the key to his pick-up before sending the boy off with the order to buy anything and everything to fix his godfather's bike.

He also made good friends with Sam, Jared, and Paul. They were able to finish the project in 20 days thanks to their added strength which he acted oblivious to. They were only able to use half of the funds he gave them since Sam had an excellent eye for quality and price while Paul knew all the right places to go for quality items at lower the cost. He would appear from time to time while they were working and make some sandwiches for them to feast one to recover their lost energy. They would even join the group for lunch back in the Den and sometimes dinner if they were free. He knew that the three were patrolling La Push for vampires and he secretly wished them luck.

He was sure of Sam's honor, however, when he found a beautifully crafted swing in one corner of his garden the day after the beach project was finished. Sam informed him that he, Jared, and Paul used the left over money – minus their fee, of course – to craft him a swing since a garden should always have one according to the latter. He later found out through Billy that the Town Center now hosted a wooden playground for the youngsters to enjoy in. He didn't say anything to that information but he mentally vowed that he would help Sam and his pack to protect La Push from enemies.

Speaking of patrolling, he also took the time to maximize his stock of healing capsules just in case. Since these were vampires they were dealing with, he and Freya started a research how to counteract a vampire's venom which was quite fatal to everyone, especially Spirit Wolves. Since they didn't have any vampire or a shifter for experimentation, they just based their research on actual werewolves.

According to the books from the Black Vault, werewolves had an advanced healing factor that practically healed any wound short of decapitation or a strike through the heart. They couldn't regenerate lost limbs but if they were still tied to their skin then it would regenerate in a matter of weeks. If the Quilleute wolves were of similar case then they were good as invincible in battle.

However, a werewolf's weakness was vampire's venom, similar to a vampire who was weak against werewolf bites. They kill each other out. According to a journal from the Black family, a werewolf bitten by a vampire and injected with its venom would only have 72 hours to live, which was the standard time for the venom to spread throughout the body. They could last longer if their healing abilities were stronger but it would still result to the same conclusion - death.

Such was the case, Freya and Leo started coming up with a treatment method if one of the Quilleute wolves were bitten.

Freya devised a method in which she would use her magical threads to enchant a person in a stasis for a short amount of time, like 10 minutes or so, similar to the effects of the _Elixir of Life_. This would make sure that the body won't deteriorate when a wolf is moved to a safe location for treatment.

His contribution to the project was a potion that he invented that would kill a vampire's venom in a person's system. It wouldn't save a human since the venom would immediately start the change. For a human with advanced healing factor that keeps the change at bay until the time limit is up, then it was a boon.

He called this invention the _Lunar's Blessing_ since it was practically a blessing to a werewolf who was bitten by a vampire which usually meant eventual death.

He just hoped that he didn't have to use this invention of his even if it worked.

Unfortunately for him, Fate had other plans for the Man-Who-Conquered

* * *

**August 12, 2005**

**10:30PM**

Leo was enjoying a quiet run through the woods within the La Push boundary in his animagus form, Griever. He didn't have that much of a free time to enjoy this form of relaxation due to his hectic schedule of study and spending time with the Quilleutes. He made sure that he stayed invisible from the patrolling wolf pack by spelling himself with a _scent-removing charm_. If he smelled a wolf then he would just run away to another part of the forest.

It was around midnight that he heard fighting somewhere deep within the forest to his left. Startled to a halt, Griever focused his hearing and eventually made out the snarl of wolves and some voices that he could only determine as vampires judging from their smooth undertones. Wanting to make sure that the wolves were safe, he shifted back to his human form and spelled himself _invisible_, _scentless_, and _soundless_.

Leo _apparated_ to a branch high above a tree and started _apparating_ silently from one branch to another until he reached the area where the sound of fighting originated; down in the forest floor was a sight that can only be described as a nightmare.

The trio of gigantic Quilleute wolves was squaring off with two vampires who entered La Push territory. From the teamwork of the wolves, they were easily overpowering the vampires. Leo observed that the wolves' speed matched that of a vampire with ease. Wolves would try to snap off a limb or two and jump away when a vampire's swipe or bite came too close for comfort.

The stalemate lasted for a few minutes until the large black wolf caught one of the vampires off guard and bit his head off, the brown wolf who was supporting him immediately started tearing into the vampire's limbs, tearing it apart. Inwardly commending them for a job well done, Leo focused his attention on the sole wolf squaring it off with the surviving vampire.

The grey wolf was pretty agile and Leo could easily see the experience in which the wolf would slowly eat away the vampire's defenses. Leo saw an opening that the grey wolf also saw before going in for the kill.

However, the lunge was miscalculated so instead of the head being torn off, the grey wolf's massive jaw clamped down on the vampires torso. Leo immediately froze since he already knew what the vampire was about to do and was powerless to do something about it.

The vampire bit down hard on the grey wolf's shoulder.

The grey wolf let go of its death-hold on the vampire's torso because of the pain it was feeling as venom starting coursing through its body. The vampire was about to do it again but was stopped when the black wolf tore through the vampire's head with the brown wolf tearing the rest of its body to pieces.

The grey wolf just lay on the ground, whimpering in pain.

Seeing enough, Leo immediately removed the spells on his person and _apparated_ a few feet away from the injured wolf. The black and brown wolf saw him and started to growl in defense of their brother.

Leo was having none of that.

"Sam, Jared, Paul, whoever you are, stand down!" Leo barked adding a layer of magic to his voice to emphasize his command. The two wolves were shocked before giving the teen a wary look. Leo just rolled his eyes.

Stupid wolves.

"Why don't you boys phase back to your human form so we can talk. We can still save your friend here." Leo said calmly. The wolves looked at each other and back at him, not doing anything to shift back.

"Sheesh. You guys are so useless." he conjured two pairs of shorts, hopefully it was big enough for the both of them since he wasn't sure of their sizes. "There, change back or I'll force you to change back. It won't hurt but I'm sure you don't want to flash your junks at me."

The wolves immediately grabbed a pair each and jogged off into the woods. They came back a few seconds later in their human form.

"Finally, Sam, Jared. I thought you were going to take forever." exclaimed Leo as he moved closer to the whimpering wolf which he definitely knew was Paul.

"How did you…?" Sam was about to ask but was cut off by Leo who glared at him.

"Explanation will come later. Now we need to get Paul some treatment to get rid of the venom in his system."

Sam shook his head in defeat.

"There's nothing we could do. A vampire's bite is fatal to us wolves. One bite and were dead in three days." Sam whispered in a sad voice.

"Cut that out, Sam." barked Leo causing the shifter to look at him in shock. "I know of a way to save, Paul. You can ask your questions later. But for now, we need to be quick and save Paul. He could last three days with the venom in his system but I don't want it in him longer than a second."

"Can you really save Paul?" Jared asked with desperation in his voice.

"Yes, but I can't do it alone. I need help." said Leo with a smile on his face hoping to calm the stressed shifter. Without another word, he raised his hand and called out _Prongs_. With a mental message, he sent it to Freya who he knew would appear any minute now considering the importance of the situation. "And now, we wait."

The silence was punctuated by Paul's whimpering as the venom painfully tried to take over his system. It was 5 minutes later that Freya appeared with a soft crack.

"Sorry for being late. I had to put Leah to sleep since we were reading in the library. I placed her on the bed with no one the wiser." explained Freya before landing her eyes on Paul. "Alright…from the presence of Sam and Jared, I'd say this is Paul. What happened?"

"Two vampires. Sam and Jared dispatched the other one while Paul was taking on the other. He was about to move in for the kill but he miscalculated his attack. The vampire bit him and venom is now coursing through his veins." explained Leo until he remembered something. "Oh, I think we forget something."

Leo moved away from the group and raised one of his hands while calling the magic to him. The torn parts of the two vampires floated over to a pile in front of him before leveling his hand at the remains palm forward. A blast of red-hot flames flew out from his palm and incinerated the remains of the vampire until they turned to ash which he banished with a wave of his hand.

"There, all done." Leo said cheerfully. Freya rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen." Freya chided Leo who was about to retort when she stopped him by pointing at Paul. "I'm not that good with Transfiguration. Reverse the change so I can put the enchantment on him. I can't put it on his wolf form since he has a minor natural defense against magic and it would complicate my work."

Leo nodded and moved towards the whimpering wolf. He raised both hands and waved it around mimicking the wand movement for a complicated _reversal charm_. Finishing the preparation, he pointed both hands on the whimpering wolf while shouting the incantation in his mind.

A beam of white light left his hands and shot straight at Paul. After a few seconds, the wounded Quilleute slowly turned back to his human form.

Freya saw the completion of his brother's spells and immediately started her own. She started waving her hands in the air causing magical threads to burst forth from her fingers, slowly being woven into the form of a human until it was similar to the actual position of the man in pain on the floor. She slowly lowered hands which the floating replica slowly being settled on the prone man. A flash of light later, Paul was stark still, no sound coming from him, not even breathing.

"What did you do to him?" Sam asked in a voice that was both commanding and worry.

"Easy, Sam." said Leo in a calm voice, hoping to relax the high-strung shifter. " I reversed Paul's transformation back to his human form. Freya here created an enchantment that would put him in a stasis for 10 minutes at most. Paul is now outside of time for 10 minutes or until it is lifted by Freya. He is safe from the effects of the venom until then."

"I thought you were going to cure him, not turn him into a statue." complained Jared eyeing the frozen form of his brother on the forest floor. It was weird. Heck, everything that happened was weird. It was so much simpler just being a gigantic wolf killing vampires. Add these two to the mix…

"Sheesh. Relax you two. This is necessary. We came up with this treatment a few weeks ago when we learned that you guys were actively hunting vampires. I promised myself that I'll make sure that your pack are safe and that is what I intend to do. We need to Paul as still as possible without any movement since any action on his part would only speed up the process of spreading the venom in his body. With him outside of time, he can be moved for treatment, and we are going to do just that." he explained to Jared before turning to his patiently waiting sister. "Could you take him to the Attic? I'll take Sam and Jared."

With a nod, Freya moved to Paul's prone form and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. She disappeared with a loud crack.

"Where did she go?" asked Sam, staring at the place where the two were present seconds ago.

"They should be in the Attic of the Den right now. We are going to follow them." Leo said calmly before walking to the two shifters and placed a hand on their shoulders. "I suggest that you close your eyes. This can be disconcerting for first-timers."

Leo disappeared from the clearing with a softer crack, disappearing from the forest back to the Den.

* * *

**End of Chapter 07**


	8. Revealing Secrets

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 08: Revealing Secrets**

* * *

**August 12, 2005**

**11:20PM**

Leo appeared in the Attic with his passengers, Sam and Jared, in tow. He appeared just in time to see Freya levitating Paul to a bed they prepared for such a situation.

"That was…." Sam started but Leo beat him to it.

"Disconcerting? Dizzying? Vomit-inducing?" Leo ticked off the effects of Apparition with his fingers.

"I was about to say weird." Sam deadpanned.

"That works too." Leo quipped cheerfully before moving over to the bed and pulling out his trustee cigarette case from his pocket.

"Are you ready, Leo?" asked Freya as she moved to the other side of the bed, preparing herself to remove the enchantment she placed on the frozen shifter.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Sam asked.

Leo faced Sam and pulled out a piece of silver capsule from the case.

"This is what I call the _Lunar's Blessing_. It is a potion that I created and capsulized as a means to destroy the vampire venom in a werewolf's body." He explained to a clearly distraught Alpha.

"Are you sure it will work?" Jared asked with a hint of doubt in his voice but Leo and Freya could easily detect hope in there too.

"Yes, Jared." Leo said with a nod. "I was able to acquire a vampire's venom and I tested my potion against it. Within a span of an hour, a half a liter of vampire venom was immediately destroyed by this little thing here."

"Alright." said Jared with a sigh. There was nothing he could do but wait and hope for the best.

Not getting anymore interruptions from the guests. Leo faced Freya who was waiting for his command. With a simple nod, she started the process of removing the enchantment from Paul. A minute later, Paul was breathing and whimpering again.

Seeing his cue, Leo moved closer to Paul and pried his mouth open and dropped the capsulized form of Lunar's Blessing. He slowly massaged the shifter's throat until he saw the capsule being swallowed. Nodding his head he placed the pained teen in a petrification spell to keep him still.

"There. That's done." said Leo with a sigh before conjuring a comfortable couch and flopping down to it. Freya followed him a second later.

"Now what?" Sam asked, eyeing the still form of Paul. He knew that his subordinate wasn't under the weird…thing that Freya placed him under since he could clearly see him breathing though his legs and arms were pulled close to his body. If one missed the rising and falling of the teen's chest, one could easily say that he was dead.

"Now…we wait." Leo admitted as he tried to relax. He knew that wouldn't be able to until he determined that Paul was safe from the venom's effects. "I already administered the antidote to fight the venom. I placed him in a petrification spell to stop any form of movement as the antidote does its work."

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and threw it to a startled Sam.

"I suggest you call the elders. If I am going to explain this then I'm going to do this once. Don't tell them anything as of yet since that would only complicate matters. Just tell them to come over to the Den and Freya will bring them up here. We are going to have a meeting…a revealing of secrets, you might say."

Sam simply nodded and dialed Billy Black.

Leo didn't bother to listen to Sam explaining the situation to Billy. He was mentally preparing himself for the revelation that would be happening soon. He already decided this with Freya that they would be explaining everything – being magical and their abilities; however they wouldn't be revealing their past to them. It was too painful to recount and too long to consider telling. For them, they were Leo and Freya Black…nothing more, nothing less.

He was brought of his musings when Sam's voice reached him.

"They are coming. I was able to talk to Billy. He will round up the Clearwaters and old man Quil." Sam informed him.

"Good." Leo said with a nod to Sam before looking at Freya. "Could you wait for them downstairs, sis? I need to stay here and keep an eye on Paul."

"Sure, Leo." agreed Freya before disappearing from her seat with a soft crack, shocking both Sam and Jared.

"A little teaser for you two, Freya and I are magical. I'm a wizard and she's a witch. That disappearing thing was one of our methods of travel. We call it _Apparition_."

Sam nodded and stopped Jared from saying anything.

"Thanks. We will hold off any questions until the elders get here."

"Thanks, Sam." Leo said with a smile.

"I think we should be the one to thank you, Leo." Sam admitted. He was having a hard time believing everything that happened, but he could never deny the fact that there was a possibility of Paul being saved. Only time could tell if it worked.

"Don't thank me yet, Sam. I know my cure works but I want to make sure that Paul is 100% healthy before we can pass compliments around. His life is more important to me right now than any platitudes."

No more words were said. All three of them were silent as they waited for the elders who would be arriving soon.

* * *

**August 13, 2005**

**12:40AM**

Freya breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw Billy's truck drive up to the entrance of the Den. Four people immediately left the truck – Sue who was assisting old man Quil and Harry assisting Billy in his wheelchair.

"Thanks for coming." said Freya as a greeting.

"No problem." said Billy as he was wheeled up to where Freya was by Harry. "What happened? All Sam said that Paul was hurt."

Freya nodded; might as well get on with it since there's no point in beating around the bush.

"An hour ago, my brother was having a quiet time out in the woods." She immediately raised her hand to interrupt Billy who was about to say something. "I know it's dangerous, Billy, but that's moot point right now. Everything will be explained later. What you need to know was that Leo found Sam, Jared, and Paul engaging a vampire deep in the La Push forests. They were able to dispatch the vampires but Paul was bitten."

They were shocked that Leo and Freya knew their secrets but they were very much shocked that Paul was bitten by a vampire. To a wolf, a vampire's bite was instant death.

"I know your next question and all will be explained. We need to get to the Attic since Sam and Jared is there with Leo. Paul is currently resting. My brother will explain everything."

The elders followed Freya to the staircase but stopped when Freya turned to them, giving them all a look as if she just realized something.

"I don't think Billy and old man Quil are in the right condition to traverse the stairs. I'll take them up myself. Harry, Sue, I want the both of you to go up to the third floor. Wait for me by the Master Suite. I trust that you know the way?"

Harry nodded but Sue had to ask what she meant.

"Uh, how are you going to take Billy and old man Quil up?" asked Sue.

Freya just smiled and walked towards the two handicapped elders. She placed one hand on Billy's shoulder and the other on old man Quil's.

"Billy, old man Quil, I suggest that you close your eyes." Was all Freya said before disappearing with the two handicapped elders with a loud crack startling both Harry and Sue.

Questions were floating in their heads but if they want them answered then they needed to go where Freya told them to go.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Freya appeared in the Attic with her passengers, startling both Sam and Jared from the loud crack that announced her entrance.

"What in Holy Jehosaphat's name is that?" shouted old man Quil. The weird thing was, Billy was just staring at Freya with wild eyes.

"That was called _Apparition_." said Leo in an amused voice. "I'll answer all your questions upon the arrival of Harry and Sue."

"I'll go fetch them." offered Freya before walking over to a bare wall and waved her hand at it causing a plain wooden door to appear. She opened the door and walked down the stairs to the other hidden entrance.

While Freya was fetching the Clearwaters, Leo waved his hand and conjured a large comfortable chair behind old man Quil.

"Might as well take a seat." said Leo while beckoning to the chair which magically appeared behind the elder.

Old man Quil didn't say anything but simply slumped down on the chair. He looked around and finally spotted Paul lying still on the bed.

"Paul!" shouted old man Quil. "What happened to him?"

"As Freya said, he was bitten by a vampire and its venom is currently in his body. I administered the treatment and all will be explained later. I promise."

Old man Quil nodded and relaxed in his chair. Billy was just staring at Leo in awe.

"I can't believe it. The stories were true." whispered Billy. Leo looked at him curiously before realization dawned on his face.

"I take it you're referring to the stories concerning the arrival of the Black Family and their meeting with your tribe?" asked Leo. Billy simply nodded. "Don't worry, Billy. All will be explained."

A few minutes later, Harry and Sue appeared behind Freya. They were about to shout when they saw Paul's still form on the bed. However, Leo stopped them and conjured a chair for them to sit on since the revelation would be quite shocking for the old people.

"I guess everyone's here." said Leo. "I will be explaining everything from start to finish. I just ask that you withhold all your questions afterwards. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded reluctantly, wanting to know if Paul was alright, but the curiosity overpowered their concern. Since Leo and Freya weren't panicking, they relaxed.

"The first thing I wanted to tell you is that everything we told you about our life was true. We didn't lie as to who we are and why we came to La Push. Like you, we just didn't tell the whole truth since there is a reason why things should remain a secret."

Everyone nodded at that, agreeing to what Leo just said.

"The other half of the truth which is holds the secret is Freya and mine's true heritage. As you can see, we can clearly do things that others couldn't, same as how the Quilleutes could change to wolves. Freya and I are magical. I, Leo Black, am a wizard; while Freya Black, my sister, is a witch. If you want to get technical, I am a Master Alchemist while Freya is an Enchantress."

"I think the best way to start is what we are. We are as human as you are. We're not aliens nor are we a different species. To put it simply, like Quilleutes who is part of the human race who can turn into wolves, there is another world out there hidden from the normal humans. This is the world of magic."

"Among humans, there are those who had the capability to use an energy called magic. Our numbers are small compared to the normal humans here on Earth. We are hidden, much like the Quilleutes hide behind legends. To protect ourselves from the persecution that is sure to follow"

"Wizards and Witches have been in this planet since time began. I think you are familiar with Merlin? Yes he existed and is considered as the founder of modern magic. At first, we were quite obvious of our magic but we eventually hid when the normal humans started fearing our abilities. I think you are all familiar with the Salem Witch Hunt?"

Everyone nodded.

"That was one of the reasons why we had to hide. We used our magic to create a form of protection that hides us from those who couldn't do magic. We have archaic rules in place that restricts us from using magic in front of them."

"In terms of history, Freya and I came from England, or to be more precise, Wizarding Britain. He learned magic from a school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when our magic manifested and accepted upon reaching at the age of eleven. We went to school for 7 years and studied magic. When we graduated, we apprenticed ourselves to Masters in our field for 5 years until we became Masters as well."

"After we graduated, both of us decided that there was nothing in England for us. Too many painful memories so we moved here in La Push to start a new life away from the memories of old."

"I think you already have a general idea on what a witch or a wizard is, though I can lend you a book about it later that would explain us in great detail, however, let's move on to more important topics. How did we know about the secrets of the Quilleutes?"

"During your first visit with the kids, Freya here automatically sensed magic in everyone. It is not as strong as the ones we have to manipulate magic, but yours were different, something more primal. It is weak in the elders; strong in Leah, Jacob, Embry, Quil, and Seth; but very strong in Sam, Jared, and Paul though the last three we discovered later when we met them the day after."

"When you left after dinner, Freya and I immediately tried to come up with an explanation to the magic we sensed. Eventually, Freya remembered the book she read regarding the legends of your tribe. I think this would refer to the story of the Cold Ones."

"From there, we eventually realized that the Spirit Wolves were real. However, there were still questions left unanswered. It was then a breakthrough came when Billy here informed me that the Blacks from England came to La Push and joined the tribe."

"With this in mind, we dug up the history of the Blacks from our archives. We were able to determine that in 1620, one of our ancestors, a Black, came to Washington to look for a new place to live. During that time, the Quilleute were already a spiritual tribe, a tribe whose belief in the spirit world was absolute. That certain Black was what we called a squib – he had magic in his body but not enough to actually do the things that we could do. He was banished from the family and disowned though he was given a portion of the family fortune to start his new life. He just didn't know HOW he came to arrive in Washington."

"Years passed that this certain Black were blood adopted by the priestess at that time after he passed the trial of the spirits. Using an ancient ritual, this Black became a full-blooded Quilleute and became a part of the tribe in full. Now, the question is - who was this mysterious Black?"

Seeing that everyone was enchanted with his story, he traced his finger in the air, spelling out the name of the mysterious Black who became a Quilleute.

**Talamus Hades Black**

"However when he became a full-blooded Quilleute, he changed his name."

Leo waved a hand on the floating letters and it changed. The first two letters of the first to words floated out while the rest disappeared.

**TaHa**

"Now, since he was disowned by the Blacks, he changed his family name to follow the tradition of the tribe he joined."

Leo waved his hand again, but this time, conjuring fire to reveal the full name.

**TaHa Aki**

"That was the last entry in his journal before sending it back to his family in Britain to cut off his life from theirs but still not forgotten. He was forbidden to return, but not forgotten. After tracing the timeline, we discovered that his father placed an enchantment on the journal like the rest of those owned by the family and added to the family history; forgotten until we were able to dig it up."

"After this, Freya and I spent a lot of time studying the records according to the Quilleute Legends. The only thing we could come up is that the miniscule magical core that Taha Aki had as remnant of his Black Heritage interacted with the Great Spirit Wolf who merged with him which caused an effect that allowed him to become the first shapeshifter among the Quilleute tribe. This was later passed down to his sons and finally ended up in four of the major families in the tribe – the Blacks, the Clearwaters, the Uleys, and finally, the Ateras."

"In regards to the abilities of a Spirit Wolf, we theorized that the squib magical core inside Taha Aki combined with the powers of the Great Wolf, thus greatly enhancing its capabilities. To put it simply, both combined to result in the current abilities of protectors of the Quilleute Tribe. The ability to shapeshift into a wolf is similar to a witch or wizards ability to shift into their animal forms, we call this ability animagus. Since the core is bonded to the Great Wolf, normally, the form they would shift into would be a wolf."

"The rapid healing is theorized to be the cause of the Great Wolf. Being a spiritual being, it replicated a witch or wizards ability to allow magic to heal our bodies. This was supercharged which resulted in a shifter's ability to heal any wound."

"The super strength and speed is theorized to be the opposite of the rapid healing. Unlike the creation of rapid healing, super strength and speed was the magical core overcharging the latent abilities of the wolf – this includes the senses, the wild strength and their natural speed."

"Finally, we have the most mysterious of all abilities of the Spirit Wolves. The ability to _imprint_, finding their one true love that is perfect for them. Actually this is a combination of two factors. Witches and wizards have what is called a _Soul Bond_. A _Soul Bond_ is the perfect synchronization of a witch or a wizard resulting in the perfect union in mind, body, soul, and magic. We can easily simplify this to the phrase 'Match made in heaven.'"

"The wolf, however, in their natural habitat have the ability to find a mate that is suitable for them, looking for qualities that greatly compliments its own. In most cases, an Alpha Male wolf would most likely mate with an Alpha Female wolf."

"Combine that with the _Soul Bond_ for wizards and witches, we get _imprinting_. One look in the eye of their intended would automatically trigger the _Soul Bond_ to form, tying the two together. This is not forced love. In fact it is what we call as True Love. The power of the Great Wolf passed down through the ages would seek out the perfect mate. Once it is found, it would trigger the _Soul Bond_, thus resulting in a match made in heaven."

"Now that I have answered two questions, which is "What are you?" and "Why do you know the secret of the Quilleute?"; the next question would be "What is happening in Paul?". I can easily explain this."

"In the Magical World, there are two beings that have always been at war with each other – the vampires and the werewolves. We did our research and we discovered that the Quilleute Spirit Wolves are very similar in terms of abilities and physiology to that of werewolf. Both have rapid healing, both have super strength and speed, and finally both have the ability to imprint. The only difference is that the werewolf is cursed – they only change under the powers of the Full Moon and its bite can infect others and turn them into one."

"Another common thing between the two is vampire venom, deadly to both. For the werewolf, a bite of a vampire means death since its venom can overpower their healing factor. Of course, the opposite also holds true, the bite of a werewolf will also kill a vampire. In most cases, a werewolf is superior to a vampire unless they manage to trap it or kill it in numbers."

"Spirit Wolves of the Quilleutes are the opposites. One cannot hope to kill a vampire unless they are properly trained to do so. But multiple wolves can easily bring down a vampire using their natural play of teamwork. However, I digress; let's go back to the venom."

"Vampire venom is deadly to the shifter. The venom would eventually overpower the rapid healing until such a point that it covers every single cell in a shifters body. Humans who are bitten by a vampire takes 3 days at the least to become a vampire. This is the length of time it takes for the venom to reach every single cell in the body before it reaches the heart. A werewolf or a shifter will suffer for 3 days as the venom surges through their bodies until such time that they are dead. The venom will never turn a werewolf or a shifter. It is poison to them. If they don't have rapid healing, then they immediately die."

"In regards to Paul, I was able to develop a potion that is capable of destroying vampire venom. I call it _Lunar's Blessing_. Using my skill in Alchemy, I was able to reproduce this potion in capsule form. Sam and Jared saw me administer it to Paul. If you're wondering why he is as still as a statue, I placed him under temporary petrification to make sure that no sudden movements would aggravate the treatment." Leo turned to Freya who was busy casting diagnostic charms on the prone shifter. "Sis, would you please cast a visual diagnostic for the benefit of the people in the room. I want to show them how my potion works."

Freya nodded and waved a hand over Paul, casting the spell. Immediately a transparent copy of the shifter rose up from the body though this one was quite different. Leo immediately launched the explanation.

"As you can see, this is Paul's circulatory system showing the flow of blood within a person's body. The color silver is actually the vampire's venom. If you check his right shoulder, you will see that there is a large portion of venom there which came from the bite. The color blue which is concentrated in Paul's stomach is actually my potion. As you have observed, the blue color is slowly overpowering and destroying the silver, slowly making its way to the source of the venom. Once it reaches there, then all the venom is purged from Paul's body and my potion will be automatically flushed out when the person takes a dump or a leak in the toilet."

Leo and Freya could hear the sigh of relief from everyone in the room.

"However, this doesn't mean that Paul will be back to being healthy immediately." Leo nodded to Freya who casts another spell. This time red spots overlapped the spectral image. "That was a diagnostic charm showing the damage to the body. At this short time, the venom damaged some of Paul's muscles and organs. If you study it closely and observe it for an hour, you will see that it is disappearing which is a testament to the rapid healing that all Spirit Wolves have."

"This means that once all the venom is destroyed. Paul will need to heal naturally until he is completely healthy. However, I can speed up the process using my stock of healing potions."

"I've done with the explanations. Any questions?" asked Leo to the silent group. "Tell you what, I'll go down to the kitchen and fix us all something to eat while you try to come up with questions for clarification. I won't hold back on any answer since I know you deserve it. "

Leo disappeared with a barely audible crack leaving six stunned Quilleutes and a smiling Freya in his wake.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo returned thirty minutes later with two trays floating beside him. One tray was filled to the brim with sandwiches. The other tray held a teapot containing tea and empty cups, mugs of coffee, and some juice. He created a large table in the middle of the Quilleutes with a thought and floated the tray on it.

"There we go." Leo said cheerfully. "Why don't we enjoy the food and drinks for a bit until such time we are all relaxed and ready. Paul is healing quite nicely and I suspect another two hours for the entire venom to disappear from his system. I will wake him up at that time and administer the healing capsules with some food to help speed up the process."

The four elders and two shifters didn't say anything but dug into the food. Aside from their empty stomachs, Leo's food was just too good to pass up. Of course, the shifter was eating their way to the tray full of sandwich with ease. Thankfully, the elders, Leo, and Freya took one for their own before it disappears courtesy of the two of the buffet monsters.

Billy was the one who spoke first after taking a mug of coffee and downing a good portion of it.

"First of all, Leo, on behalf of the Quielleute Tribe, we offer you our thanks in saving one of our own." Billy said sincerely. The remaining elders and the two shifters nodded at this.

"Billy, as I told you before; Freya and I consider the Quilleute Tribe as family. In fact, we are family in blood judging from the origins of Taha Aki." Leo said sternly. "So you don't need thank me for saving the idiot on the bed. Bloody hell, why in the world would he be stupid enough to tackle a vampire on his own? Sheeesh. Muscle brained idiot."

Sam, Jared, and the rest of the elders chuckled.

"Paul has always been like that, Leo. He has this issue with his temper and he likes to fight." Sam said in amusement.

"If he wanted a bloody fight then I'll give him one. It would be a good match too… a Nemean Lion versus a Spirit Wolf. Two mythical creatures wrestling on the ground of Marauder's Den. Tickets are for sale in the nearest wizarding store near you." said Leo with sarcasm in his voice.

"What's a Nemean Lion?" asked a curious Jared.

Leo didn't say anything but simply stood from his chair and walked away from the Quilleutes. Judging that he had enough space, he immediately shifted to Griever.

"Holy Shit!" shouted Jared.

"Damn! I would love to see you fight a vampire." exclaimed Sam in amazement.

"I'm getting too old for this." said old man Quil with a sigh.

"I wonder if he's house broken?" asked Harry who was giving the large golden lion in front of him a speculative eye. He didn't notice his wife fainting beside him.

"Leo is definitely a great name for you." said Billy in awe.

Leo shifted back to his human form and going back to his seat.

"Actually, Billy, my name in that form is Griever." Leo corrected him as he grabbed a cup of tea on the table and took a sip.

Billy gave him a long look before turning to Freya who saw his look and immediately shifted to Fenrir.

"Holy Shit!" shouted Jared…again. "She's a wolf"

"Correction, she's a Shadow Wolf and her name's Fenrir." Leo corrected calmly before taking another sip of his tea.

"Isn't Fenrir a boy's name?" asked Harry. Fenrir growled. "Whoah. I'm just asking."

Freya turned back to her human form and gave Harry a grin which was readily returned.

"So, Leo, you mentioned that you sensed the ability to become Spirit Wolves from our kids?" asked Billy. Sam was brought up short and listened to the conversation.

"Yes, it is quite strong in Leah, Seth, Jacob, Quil, and Embry. Well, according to Freya anyways and her magical senses is perfect." answered Leo.

"I see, so does this mean that they will change eventually?" asked Harry in a worried voice.

"That depends. According to our research of the Quilleute Legends, Taha Aki changed into a Spirit Wolf by accepting the Great Wolf to bond with him after a sign of a threat. I think that was when he was about to be killed by Utlapa, a mortal enemy. So we can safely say that the change would be triggered if the power inside a person is exposed to a threat."

"Hmmm…you do have a point. Sam here triggered his change when a vampire was spotted in our lands. When more vampires came, Jared phased followed by Paul." Billy mused.

"Agreed. We can safely say that the change would be triggered by the presence of the enemy of the Quilleute, the Cold Ones, or aptly named, a vampire." Leo agreed with the theory since it fits perfectly with his own. "I do have a question though but this would be a bit personal."

The elders nodded for him to continue.

"According to our research, Taha Aki passed on the power to shift to a wolf to four families, namely the Blacks, Clearwaters, Uleys, and Atera." started Leo. He really wanted to get this out into the open. "My question is…why does Embry Call have the power in him?"

This brought everyone short. Sam, literally, stiffened in his seat. The elders were looking nervous, while Jared was looking at all of them in curiosity.

Seeing that no answer was forthcoming, Leo continued.

"I'm really not that familiar with Embry's ancestry but if we follow the trend stated in the legend, he either has the blood of one of you in his veins. I doubt if he is Sam's lovechild since Embry is too old to be your child. Old man Quil is out for obvious reasons. Only two is left…Harry and Billy."

Billy sighed. He knew that this secret would come out eventually.

"Leo, the Quilleute has always had four elders, the head of the four families. As you can see, I'm an elder because I'm the eldest of the Black Family, Harry is for the Clearwaters, and Quil Sr for the Ateras. Sue is an elder by association. Only one family is not present, and that is the Uleys." explained Billy. "Sam's father, Joshua Uley left the Reservation when Sam was born. We had no news as to where he is. A few years later, a woman from the Makah Reservation, another Native American Tribe, came to us seeking a home for her and her only child. She was a Call and as you have guessed, she is Embry's mom…"

Billy paused, unable to continue. However, Leo finally got the whole picture.

"So if we follow the timeline, we can safely deduce that Embry Call is actually Embry Uley." Leo finished for the Black elder.

"We hoped it wasn't true but the facts cannot be denied. Too bad that Embry's mom died before we could really ask her as to who is Embry's father. Since the boy is an orphan, the Ateras took care of him which is the reason why he is so close with Quil." Harry supplied since Billy didn't speak.

Leo thought for a moment before remembering something.

"You know, there is a way to find out. All I need is blood from Sam and I could spell a parchment to reveal his family tree. If Embry is really his brother then it would certainly appear under Joshua Uley." offered Leo. He knew this was a painful discovery but if they wanted to move on then they better accept it.

No one spoke but the elders were looking at Sam's grief-stricken look. Jared was looking at his Alpha with a little bit of worry in his eyes. It was five minutes later that Sam finally sighed.

"Fine. If Leo here can determine the truth, I say we accept his offer." said Sam with another sigh escaping his lips.

Without saying anything, Leo stood from his chair and went to his trunk tucked under his study table. He opened it and pulled out a 5-foot long rolled up parchment. Nodding, he carried it to the table and banished the empty trays. He laid out the parchment and spelled it to straighten up. He looked at Sam one more time before proceeding with the ritual.

"One more chance to back out, Sam." said Leo to the clearly distraught Alpha. Sam looked at the parchment for a minute before squaring his shoulders and looked at him in the eye.

"Do it."

Leo nodded and placed a hand over the parchment, palm down. He started to incant the spell to imbue the enchantment on the paper.

**"_Spiritus __Temporis __verum aperiat, __adiuti __Spiritu __Nullam __sanguis __revelare __abscondita __quae__in __acie__doce re__veritatem __Revelationis __tuus.__"_**

He chanted this three times until the parchment glowed a bright blue before dying down. He conjured an athame and had it float in front of the mesmerized Alpha.

"Take the athame and cut a wound on your palm. Once done, place the palm on the paper. I will begin the next incantation. Once I finished my chant three times, remove your hand from the paper and we will finally see the truth."

Sam nodded and grabbed the floating athame. With a fast swipe, a wound appeared, blood gushing out. He immediately placed the bloodied palm on the parchment. Everyone could see that the blood was being absorbed by the paper and spreading out.

**"_Sanguine __quod oblatum est, __gratis datam, __ostendere veritatem __rectam __tenet.__"_**

Sam removed his bloodied palm from the paper when Leo finished the third chant. The parchment glowed a bright red before glowing blue before dying down. The Uley family tree suddenly started branching out from Sam's name using Sam's blood as the ink. Everyone's eyes were starting at the two branches extending from Joshua Uley.

Everyone was speechless. No one said a word, well, except one.

"Congratulations, Sam, you have a brother." said Leo with a smile on his face.

* * *

**End of Chapter 08**


	9. Life Goes On

**Authors Note:**

_**I get a lot of messages concerning my fics and I found that it is the perfect time to create a place where my readers can interact with me – sharing ideas, correcting problems, flaming (I hope not), and the likes. **_

_**So without further adieu, I would like to invite you to my blog which will soon contain all the stories I posted here in . Please come and visit. **_

_**yaoifurrylover_._blogspot_._com**_

_**(just remove the underscore [_] to get the correct link). **_

_**See you online.**_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight.**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 09: Life Goes On  
**

* * *

Everyone was silent in the Attic after the revelation. Sam was still as a statue as he continued to gaze at his father's name on the enchanted parchment. The elders, on the other hand, were giving Sam worried looks as if expecting the Alpha Wolf of the Quilleute tribe to suddenly go berserk. Leo was keeping a silent vigil over the Quilleutes to make sure that no problem would sprout up from the night's events. Freya wasn't paying anyone any attention since she was focused on her diagnostics of Paul's health.

Leo cast a silent tempus charm. It was already half past 2 in the morning. His guests were either going home or stay the night. He decided to voice out the offer.

"Elders, Sam, Jared, I offer you the hospitality of Marauder's Den if you want to stay the night…er…morning since it's a bit late to go back to your respective homes. I suggest that you take it if you want to be the first to greet Paul when he wakes up in a few hours." Leo addressed the group.

Everyone nodded. Besides, they weren't really in any mood to go home right now.

"We need to send the kids a message so they'll know where we are. They were already asleep last night when we left. They would ask a lot of questions if they find all of us not in our respective homes for the night." said Harry.

Leo nodded in agreement. Jacob would always find way to aggravate his father but he cared for the man too much to not worry when he's not at home. Seth, Embry, and Quil were the same with their respective father; or in Embry's case, father figure.

"I'll take care of it." he offered to Harry, who nodded, before looking at Sam. "Can you take the elders to the guest rooms? You already know where they are - one for Billy, one for old man Quil, and one for Harry and Sue. You and Jared can take any rooms you like. I'll wake everyone up for breakfast tomorrow."

Sam nodded and moved towards Billy but he was stopped when Freya stepped forward.

"It's alright, Sam. I'll take Billy and old man Quil to the second floor where the guest rooms are. You guide Harry and Sue. I'll meet you there." she offered to the shifter. She grasped the two handicapped elders on the shoulder and disappeared from the room in a loud crack.

Sam shook his head and gave an amused Leo a wry smile.

"You know, I'll never get used to that." he admitted to the wizard.

"Trust me, you will." encourage Leo though the grin he was sporting didn't bode well with the Alpha shifter. "Can you tell the elders that we are going to have a meeting at breakfast? I have a proposition for them and your pack in regards to the safety of La Push. I know it's your job and all but we can never deny the fact that accidents could happen even with the best of us."

Leo finished the last part with a meaningful glance at the prone form of Paul.

"Understood," Sam agreed with a nod. "I was going to suggest that you act as our healer, or in certain cases, as back-up."

"That's a good idea actually." admitted Leo. His first offer was to in the front line when they meet the vampires but it's not a good idea to usurp the wolves' responsibility to the tribe. Sam's idea would place him and Freya behind the front line, ready to help in case if needed. It was better this way. "You're idea is way better than mine. But let's talk about that later at breakfast. I have some toys for you guys that would allow you to ask for our help without having to come to the Den."

Sam nodded before nudging Harry and a sleepy Sue towards the door to exit the Attic.

Leo watched them leave before turning to the bed where Paul was still petrified. He waved his hand over the shifter's body and produced the same diagnostic visual his sister used earlier. He noticed that most of the silver was gone and the only ones left were around the bite mark. He guessed that it would take half an hour more before he could safely _unpetrify_ the shifter and give him his healing capsules for the night.

He was about to stand up but paused when he realized that he had to tell Paul everything. He definitely didn't want to go through all that explanation again. An idea occurred to him – put Paul into a deep sleep, wake him up later when Sam comes to visit, and leave the two alone so they could talk.

Leo nodded while giving himself a mental pat on the back. It was the perfect idea.

-x-x-x-x-x-

After running a more in-depth _diagnostic charm_ on Paul's health, Leo left Freya to take care of the shifter before _apparating_ to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. Even without the kids, it was going to be a full house, not to mention that there was going to be a shifter who just survived a life-and-death situation, plus two other shifters who were going to be hungry as well.

Speaking of Paul, the absence of the venom in his system would kick-start his rapid healing and increased his appetite. Meaning, Leo had a very hungry wolf with a potential bottomless stomach to feed. He sighed before opening the fridge and started levitating ingredients to the counter to get started. Even if he finished early, he could always put the food under _stasis charm_ to keep them fresh. He definitely needed to catch a few winks. The living room sounds inviting right about now.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo opened his eyes to see his sister looking down at him in worry.

"Leo, are you alright?" she asked in concern. She finally left Paul to sleep after discovering that all the venom was gone from his system. She went down to check on her brother but found him in a deep sleep in the living room sofa.

Leo released a loud yawn before sitting up from his comfortable make-shift bed.

"I'm fine, sis. I just needed a power nap." he answered before giving his sister a critical eye. "Why don't you take a short nap? I'll wake you up later. You should be as tired as I am."

Freya just gave his brother an amused look.

"I think you're forgetting, dear brother, that an Enchanter can sustain their bodies using magic alone if there is need. Right now, I'm running on gas with my magical core powering my system. I can survive for 5 more hours in this state but I need to sleep it off afterwards." explained a smug Freya.

His brother might be a Master Alchemist and have a more diversified set of skills, he was, however, nothing compared to her control over magic. Her ability to sustain herself with magic alone was beyond his grasp, and he knew it.

"Fine." grouched Leo. "You're like a magical version of the Energizer bunny."

"I am not." Freya said indignantly.

"Yes you are." Leo deadpanned. "You run on magical energy, the Energizer bunny runs on stored energy. Do the math."

"I hate you." growled Freya while giving her brother the evil eye.

"And I love you too, sis." Leo said cheerfully while patting her irate sister on the cheek. He looked around. "What time is it anyway and where are our guests?"

Freya was able to rein in her temper before answeringh though there was a lot of twitching going on with a vein on her temple.

"In order, it's 6:10AM and our guests are still asleep. I hit Leah with another round of _sleeping charm_ to make sure that she'll sleep until noon. We don't want her asking questions as to why the elders and the shifters are here, not to mention what the presence of Sam would do to her mood." she explained as she made her way to the kitchen to get some coffee. Her brother always has one ready to drink on the heating pad if he was first in the kitchen.

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. Why does Leah hate Sam so much? While Sam was working on the beach, I saw Leah giving him a baleful glare. If looks could kill then our Alpha Wolf would have been dead a thousand times over, rapid healing be damned."

Freya shook her head while pouring coffee onto a large mug.

"It's not my story to tell. But if you're really that curious then all I can tell you is that it has something to do with _Imprinting_. Sam knows the reason, Leah doesn't. You do the math." she confessed before grabbing her mug and _apparating_ out of the kitchen back to her vigil on Paul.

Leo was starting at the spot where his sister was standing and mulled over what she said.

"_Let me see…Leah is angry at Sam and Freya told me that it's imprinting. So Leah and Sam were couples before and Sam had to break it off because he imprinted. Sam didn't tell her anything except maybe that they won't be together anymore. But that shouldn't make Leah that angry. So…it's possible that Sam imprinted on someone that Leah knows…a friend or a family member. Hmmm…wow, and I thought my life was a tragedy." _thought Leo as he started pulling out dishes from the cabinet to prepare breakfast for everyone.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was after 7 that the people started entering the dining room in groups. Leo was reading the Daily Prophet that Fawkes delivered for him from his drop box in Gringotts. He charmed the paper so that only those who have magic or those who knew about it would see it as it was. Those who didn't would just see a normal morning paper, nothing more.

The first to come in was the Clearwaters, Harry and Sue, who he immediately invited to have a cup of coffee. He offered them to eat first but they decided to wait for the others to come down.

The next to come in, or in this case, appear in, was Billy and old man Quil _apparated_ into the room by Freya.

Last were Sam and Jared leading a tired-looking Paul by the shoulder.

Breakfast started quietly at first until conversation started pouring in. Paul was eyeing him and Freya in amazement.

Leo realized that Sam must have told him everything so that was good. Billy and old man Quil was bombarding him and Freya on their magical abilities which both answered truthfully. There was no point in hiding what they could do when the demonstration last night already gave the elders and shifters the gist of their abilities. Leo explained it to them that they could do anything as long as it is within reason and they knew HOW to do it.

Sue was clearly interested in the healing aspects of magic and was curious about its limitations.

"Well, to be honest with you, Sue, magic is wonderful when it comes to healing. Even cancer, that is deemed untreatable by the normal people, can be easily removed with the right potions and spells. Heck, even Freya and I can put Billy here to rights in a few days and get rid of old man Quil's limp."

The Quilleutes who heard that declaration was looking at the two magicals in awe.

"You mean you can heal my spine? I can walk again?" Billy asked with a little bit of desperation in his voice.

Leo nodded and waved a hand at Billy who was seated a two seats away from him, hitting him with a diagnostic spell. He did the same with old man Quil.

"Well, old man Quil is a simple fix. We can easily banish the old bones and grow a new one. Since it is only a single bone, he would be free from his limp in an hour. You, on the other hand, would take a week. Aside from the nerve damage caused by the accident that practically placed half your body in a coma, you're suffering from muscle atrophy due to the years you've been sitting in that chair of yours. So in your case, your fix takes time. I am going to give you a potion that would fix the damage on your nerves with some spells to make sure that they are connected right. In regards to your muscles, you're going to be undergoing a potion treatment for a week to put them back at the same strength before the accident."

When Leo finished his explanation, everyone was looking at him in awe.

"I'll do anything to be able to walk again. I'll pay you anything." Billy said desperately. Leo just gave him a smile.

"Billy, how many times do I have to tell you that me and my sister already see you as family? Heck, all of you are family to us; we are all related anyway since you all descended from a Black. I don't need payment. I have more than enough money and I don't need more. Seeing you happy and walking is payment enough for me. Besides, it's better than _apparating_ you all over the place with that pair of wheels you call a chair." he explained to a clearly happy elder. He then looked at old man Quil who was looking at his cane and down to his limp leg. "And yes, old man Quil, you're getting the treatment too. However, there is a complication…"

He saw their questioning looks so he decided to drop the bomb.

"How are we going to explain this to the rest of the tribe? Tell me, Billy, with all the treatment offered in the hospital for your lack of movement, why didn't you?" Leo asked bluntly.

"My main reason is I don't want to spend money on my treatment because I want to make sure that my children are provided with everything they need. I already looked into the treatment but they are too expensive. I could easily afford it with my savings but it would leave us without anything else to spend with." admitted Billy.

"We can easily come up with an alibi then. Why don't I tell them that I offered you an option to get it fixed? We'll tell them that the English Black family had a fund for the Native Black family in case they needed it. We could just tell those who ask that you got an offer from them to get your spine treated. You could stay here for a week, pretending that you're out of the country, and get your treatment going." explained Leo getting a nod from everyone. It was a good alibi and doesn't leave any room for discovery.

"For old man Quil, it is a simple fix too and we can come up with an alibi for that. I can fix his leg right now but he can pretend that he still needs his cane." Leo said this with a cheeky grin to the old man in question.

Billy and Quil Sr. looked at each other for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Thank you, Leo. We accept your offer." said Billy with a large grin on his face mimicked by Quil Sr. "When is the treatment?"

"After our meeting with the shifters." this declaration made the trio of Spirit Wolves look at him in question. Leo almost laughed at their expression; they were so identical to each other they could have been mistaken as triplets.

"Don't worry, wolves, you're not in trouble though I wouldn't say the same thing to you Paul. Tackling that vampire alone was so suicidal of you. If you want a fight I'll be more than happy to give you one in a controlled environment. Besides, it's a good training program." Leo paused, that was a good idea.

"You know, I think I'll talk to you about that later, Sam. Training sounds good right now. Anyway, I digress; you're not in trouble, I'm just going to give you guys something that would make your patrolling a whole lot safer to deal with. Freya and I already did our research and our experiments are ready."

Leo banished the remains of their breakfast to the kitchen before pulling out three boxes. He floated the boxes over to the shifters, one each.

"Open it."

Sam, Jared, and Paul opened the box and saw the content.

"Jewelries?" Paul exclaimed with pure disbelief in his voice. "Sure they're pretty but how in the world are they going to help us against vampires?"

Leo and Freya rolled their eyes. The latter chose to explain since these were her creations.

"As you can see, there are three jewelries for each of you. The bangle is like a sensor that will give you a mental alarm when vampire is within a 150 meter radius from your position. The ring is a _portkey, _consider it as a teleportation device, that would take you to the Attic if the password is given. The password is _'Marauder Safe Haven'._ Just think of the password while picturing the Attic in your mind and you're there in a second."

"Last, but not the least, is the necklace. I enchanted that with the ability to monitor your health and inform us if you are ever in critical condition. It also has a built-in _locator charm _which will tell us where you are at all times. So if you ever need help then we'll user your necklace as a beacon and appear in your location to lend a hand." explained Freya to the three wide-eyed wolves.

Leo chose to continue the explanation.

"As you may have noticed, Freya and I are not taking an active role in the protection of the tribe. We aren't going to take your primary purpose from you. You will still be the one in charge of the protection of La Push but we will be there as healers and emergency back-up in case you're in deep trouble."Leo explained to the wolves. "Oh, by the way, the ring, aside from being a _portkey_, also holds another purpose. If you need back-up or if you find yourself unable to get out of the scene, just mentally say _'Taha Aki'_ while thinking of one of us and we will get the message. We will immediately help you out."

"And those three are invisible to everyone except the elders, us, and your fellow shifters. They are virtually indestructible and will still be with you when you change into your wolf form. They will automatically change their sizes to fit. Once you put it on, it will bond to your magic and only you can take them off." Freya added as an afterthought.

Leo saw the shifter immediately put on their new accessories. They were looking at it in awe and were checking themselves out with it. All of a sudden, he felt a ringing in his head coming from Paul. He gave the shifter a mock-glare.

"Sheesh. Don't you dare use that if you don't need it or you're going to find yourself neutered." threatened Leo causing said shifter to flinch.

"What happened?" asked a curious Harry.

"Paul here decided to test the emergency enchantment on the ring. I think he projected it while thinking of the vampire that attacked him since the ringing in my head almost caused me a headache." he explained to the elder who had a look of comprehension on his face. He then turned to the wolves

"As you can see, thanks to Paul, you discovered that our gifts to you worked. We can easily pinpoint WHO used the feature and will respond accordingly."

Sam nodded.

"Thanks for the help, Freya, Leo. I'm sure these would be a great help in the future." said Sam with a smile before he frowned. "How is Paul's condition?"

Freya frowned and stood up from her seat before approaching a nervous Paul. She immediately started casting diagnostic spells to determine his exact health.

"All of the venom is gone from his system and the bite is already healed though it will scar and there's nothing we could do about that. It is similar to Leo's lightning bolt scar; it can't be removed because of the curse that created it. Aside from being totally free from the venom's effects, there are still some minor damages to his muscles and organs. He needs to rest for two more days and given some healing potions to speed up the process. I suggest that he stays here in the Den till he becomes fit enough to resume patrolling. I can keep an eye on him better if he's here within easy reach." explained Freya as she finished checking out her patient's vitals.

"Sis, I think we should convert some of the rooms into a make-shift infirmary just in case." Leo suggested to her sister who immediately nodded.

"That's a good idea, Leo." agreed Freya. "I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, sis." he said before turning to Sam who was sporting a worried look on his face. "I can go with you when you patrol until such time Paul can take up the slack again."

"It's going to be pretty dangerous, Leo." warned Sam causing Leo to roll his eyes at him.

"Really? Are you sure about that? A 6-foot tall half-a-ton lion with fur that is pretty much indestructible against a couple of vampires?" he said sarcastically causing Sam to give him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I forgot about your animal form." said the Alpha shifter with a smile on his face.

"And don't you forget it." Leo reminded him. "You, me, and Jared will be having a practice run tomorrow. I want to make sure that I can anticipate your moves. A lion and a wolf's mentality when it comes to fighting are similar so we only need to work out the kinks."

"Hey! What about me?" shouted Paul. He really didn't like being left out. Freya gave him a whack on the head causing him to wince since she amplified her strength with Body Magic.

"Shut up. You still need to heal. If you want to be in on the action next time then avoid taking on a vampire without back-up." Freya reprimanded him causing said shifter to nod glumly.

* * *

**August 14, 2005**

**11:30PM**

A large black wolf barely dodged a claw swipe from a large golden lion attacking him from his left. He was about to sprint for a counter-attack but the lion suddenly crouched and rammed his shoulder using its large head. The power in that lunge was enough to throw him back a few feet and crash on the forest floor with a loud yelp.

Sam was currently in a training spar with Jared to give Leo an intro to wolf-fighting. They were surprised, however, that the golden lion, which Leo affectionately named Griever, was able to stand up to their speed and strength. The thing that made it complicated in fighting the wizard-turned-lion was its fur that was as hard as a diamond. It was almost impossible to get a decent perch using their claws since they would just slide off. So instead of teeth and claws, they have to overpower their opponent with brute force alone.

Sam shook his head and was about to stand when he saw the giant lion running towards him at full speed. He crouched down to a defensive position and prepared himself for impact but it didn't come since Jared rammed the lion on the shoulder sending it off course.

Seeing his chance to attack, he sprinted towards the dazed lion and lunged, intending to bite the lion's neck and have a decent perch for his claws to attack, also giving Jared a chance to land a clean hit on their opponent.

Griever, however, saw the lunged coming. He ducked allowing Sam to safely sail above him. But before the black wolf could complete his trajectory, he immediately pushed himself off the ground with all of his strength causing the wolf to be tossed to the air like a rocket. He deftly avoided Jared's mad dash by jumping over him before mule-kicking Sam hard on the ribs when the black wolf was in range as it fell.

He was about to sprint after Sam but he felt something latch on to his tail. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Jared was holding him back from attacking his Alpha by keeping him at bay by holding onto his tail with his powerful jaws.

For Griever, the bite wasn't painful but it was definitely annoying. His defenses easily protected him from the sharp fangs and teeth. Deciding to be creative he starting running around in a small circle, dragging the brown wolf with him. The centrifugal force was too strong for the wolf so it let go of its target and was hurled to a tree, crashing into it with a loud thud.

He didn't get a chance to attack, however, when the black wolf recovered and jumped onto his back and latched on to his neck; thankfully, the sharp teeth didn't penetrate thanks to his furry protection. He could feel the claws trying to dig his way into his defenses without any effect. He started bucking around trying to dislodge his uninvited passenger but Sam held on tightly with his jaws.

Jared, seeing his chance, immediately ran at full speed and rammed the large lion's ribs with his head. The force of the impact threw the lion away. Thankfully, Sam was warned by Jared in time through their mental connection so he was able to jump away from his perch to avoid being thrown.

The two wolves saw their chance and immediately started attacking the dazed lion in earnest using their usual hit-and-run tactic. The tango of lunges, swipes, and head butts continued for another 10 minutes until the lion gave out a loud roar that signaled the end of the spar.

The wolves immediately jumped away and ran to the woods to shift back to their human forms.

The large golden lion shifted back to reveal Leo shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs he acquired from the hit-and-run tactics of the wolves. Fighting one wolf was easy but fighting two of them in their natural teamwork was dizzying. They were so fast and he could barely keep up even with his heightened senses.

"Damn, you guys are good." admitted Leo as he saw Sam and Jared enter the practice area with smug grins on their faces.

"We got you in the end because of teamwork but you're too much for one wolf to handle." admitted Sam as he approached Leo. The Alpha wolf of the Quilleute pack admitted to himself that Griever was built with more power than theirs. Heck, it took him and Jared's combined strength just to take him down.

"Not only that, your defense is top notch. Even if I got a bite on you, I could feel my teeth sliding off your fur. Those must be as hard and smooth as diamonds. I could barely get a perch on you." quipped Jared as he followed his Alpha.

"In terms of a one-on-one fight, I can take you on and win but your teamwork is amazing, especially your hit-and-run tactic. That was what you used on the two vampires wasn't it?" Leo asked in curiosity.

Sam and Jared nodded.

"That is the only thing we could do against vampires. If you study their abilities, you can see that they have power and speed, more so than us wolves. However, we could easily overpower them with superior numbers. Vampires aren't known to get along with another vampire. I think it's their instinct to work alone unless they're trained. We got the upper hand if that is the case. But if they ever fight us _en masse_, then even three of us wouldn't stand a chance." explained Sam.

"I see. But I think the _Powers-That-Be_ would make sure that you have enough wolves if the threat ever gets worst. If more vampires enter the Reservation then you can expect one, if not all, the kids to change. That would increase your numbers to combat the threat." Leo agreed. Vampires are definitely powerful beings and the wolves too if they have numbers on their side. "I'm more of a one-on-one fighter as a lion. Working in groups isn't easily accepted by my animal instinct."

"If that is the case then I suggest that you serve as our back-up. You could watch our backs just in case one of the other vampires tries to blindside us. Do you prefer to fight in your animal form or as a wizard?" asked Sam, wanting to come up with a game plan if Leo was to join a fight with vampires. The lion was powerful but Leo as a wizard could provide more firepower. Not only that, his arsenal of spells could switch between attack and defense with ease, giving them the advantage of flexibility in combat.

Leo thought about it for a moment before answering.

"To be honest, I'm better as a wizard. My spells are more diverse in dealing with vampires. My shield would protect me from their attacks and counter-attack with my own arsenal. If a vampire does attack if I join your group then I'm going to transform back and start raining down spells like there's no tomorrow." He added the last part with a cheeky grin causing Sam to bark out a laugh and Jared to smile.

"I will join you in your patrols as a lion since I could never keep up with your speed as a human but Griever could do so just fine. If we are to engage a vampire then I'll switch form and keep an eye on the battle. I'll provide spells to defend you if there is need and if you give me an open shot then I'll incinerate them quick and easy."

Sam nodded. It was a sound plan and immediately agreed with it.

"I think we'll stick with that." agreed Sam and looked up at the stars, gauging the current time through the constellations above. "We still have five hours left for patrol. Let's do our circuits and we can turn in afterwards. Vampires usually attack between 9:00PM to 4:00AM so we'll stick with that schedule. We wanted to maintain a round-the-clock patrol but we don't have the manpower for the job so we stick to patrols at night where the attacks are more susceptible."

That statement made Leo think on how large La Push was. If they wanted to patrol La Push 24/7 then they would definitely need more wolves for the job. He guessed that he needed to brainstorm with Freya to come up with a _perimeter ward_ or something around La Push to determine if a vampire enters the boundary or not. It wasn't impossible but the large area they need to cover would require a lot of work.

Leo pulled out his capsule case and took out three _Pepper-Up Capsules_. He took one immediately and could immediately feel his tiredness being washed away by its effect. He tossed one capsule each to Sam and Jared who easily caught it and gave him a curious look.

"Those are _Pepper-Up_ _Capsule_. Think of it as a supercharged Gatorade or something. It would replenish all the energy you lost during the spar. This way, we could patrol at full strength and not worry about it running out just in case we do meet a vampire or two.

Their faces perked up at the explanation and immediately downed the capsule. Leo could see the effect of the capsulized potion when the wolves were standing straighter and grinning like a maniac.

"This is so cool!" exclaimed Jared. Sam just nodded with the grin still on his face.

Leo made a mental note of studying the effects of Pepper-Up on wolves. From the looks these were sporting, it was like they were in a sugar-high. Super-powered wolves on a sugar-rush were not a good scenario in his book; though it would spell disaster to any vampires they would come across so it has its advantages as well, in moderation of course.

"I'll try to work with Freya so you could bring some with you during your patrols. Since you're taking off-hours then you need to be properly energized to keep up with the work load." he agreed with the invitation to patrol. He loved to run in the forest and this would give him the excuse to do so.

He immediately shifted into Griever and waited for the wolves to get rid of their shorts before they could shift. He added that to his mental to-do-list to see if Freya could come up with a way for the shifter to phase on the fly without having to worry about clothes.

* * *

Life settled back to normal after the revelation. It was agreed upon by everyone concerned that it wasn't a good idea to tell the kids as of yet though that would change if they phased for the first time. The first wolf pack – Sam, Jared, and Paul – would be in charge of introducing the Quilleute Legends to the new shifter; while Leo and Freya would introduce them to the Wizarding Magic. They knew that the kids would have a little bit of resentment with the two groups since they kept everything under their noses but they would just have to "suck it up and swallow it" as Leo succinctly put it.

It was a week after Paul's tango with death that Billy was walking much to the amazement of everyone who knew him. When Paul was properly healed up and started patrolling again, Billy was put under an intensive healing regime to make sure that everything was put to rights. They came up with an alibi for Jacob; Billy would tell his son that Leo offered to fund his treatment through the financing of the Black Family Trust to fix his walking problem.

Of course, Jacob didn't have any problem with that but he was tasked by the Black patriarch to watch the house while he was away so the boy's excited offer to come along was denied.

Once that was done, one of the rooms on the second floor was subjected to a string of enchantments to make sure that none of the Den occupants who weren't privy on the plan would drop in unannounced.

When the preparations were complete, the start of Billy's treatment commenced.

The first thing Freya and Leo did was to correct Billy's nerve problem which cut of any control to his lower skeletal and muscular system. This was easily done with one of the capsules Leo made in advance thanks to Madam Pomfrey's list while he was still studying under the Flamels.

Thanks to Perenelle's lessons on Healing Magic, Freya was able to properly guide the growth of the nerves to where they were supposed to connect. When Billy told them that he could feel his legs but couldn't move them, the second phase of the treatment began under the scrutiny of the witch.

Billy was subjected to a twice-a-day one-week dose of a _Muscle Restoration Draught_ that Leo brewed for him. He didn't bother to 'capsulize' it since they didn't know how to it would affect the treatment due to lack of experimentation.

Billy didn't complain much since it didn't taste all that bad though he adamantly wanted to drink something sweet after each swallow. Fortunately, his request was accepted since it wouldn't affect the ingested potion in any way.

The potion would slowly repair the atrophy on the muscles on Billy's legs. It was partnered with a controlled physical exercise program that Freya devised to make sure that the treatment was successful.

It was a week later that Billy 'returned' to La Push with a large grin on his face, no longer stuck on his wheelchair but walking like a normal person. Leo heard that there was a big party that night dedicated to the recovery of the well-loved elder though he and his sister didn't attend since they were with the wolf pack patrolling La Push since that number of people gathered in town would attract any vampire within a 10-mile radius.

It was fortunate for them to do so since it was an hour before midnight that two vampires wandered into the forest of La Push heading towards the party to take advantage of the 'buffet'. They met three Spirit Wolves and a pissed of wizard for their uninvited presence.

It was to say that they didn't last more than five minutes since the tactic Sam and Leo devised worked like a charm.

The wolves would herd the vampires towards Leo who would be waiting with an overpowered _Incendio_ perched high on top of a tree. When the vampires came into range, the pissed off wizard immediately unleash a veritable hail of fire that burned the two down to ash before they could blink.

Since Leo and Freya now had an idea what the wolves were going through as they protected their home from vampires, the duo put their minds together and came up with a plan.

The first plan that came out of the drawing board was the creation of an infirmary for injured wolves. The elders, shifter, Freya, and Leo all decided that making the attic and second floor of the Den as infirmary wasn't conducive to the situation. Not only was it too far away, they didn't want the kids to discover the secret this early.

After a little bit of brainstorming, they decided to create a small infirmary at the edge of the woods on the west side of the Den to make it easy for the wolves to transport their injured and get the necessary treatment.

For this job, everyone had their own responsibilities. Freya would be acquiring the necessary muggle and magical supplies to place inside the infirmary. She was also tasked to modify the enchantments on the _portkeys_ to take them to the infirmary instead of the Attic in the Den.

Leo would begin 'capsulizing' the needed potions for easy use, especially _Lunar's Blessings_, to make sure that everything was available when needed.

The elders didn't have anything to do when it came to the creation of the infirmary, which they lovingly named the _Wolf's Den_, though Leo did give them a bit of homework to be implemented once the infirmary was finished.

Of course, the shifter provided the manpower for building their new infirmary. Once that was done, Leo and Freya would be adding spells and enchantments to make it better.

Thanks to the judicious use of a localized _notice-me-not charm_, the kids were unaware of the construction going on in the grounds of the Den; though the Freya and Leo weren't worried since the kids were thoroughly distracted – Leah was busy reading in the library, Seth having fun in the living room with Quil or trying out a new recipe in the kitchen; and finally, Jacob and Embry working in the garage trying to fix the bike of Leo's godfather which would take quite a while since they had to fix everything from the ground up.

Speaking of the kids, they didn't get off scott-free since they would be phasing soon if the number of vampires increased in La Push. The project that Leo gave to the elders was the creation of two businesses in the Reservation that would help fund the 'protectors'.

Sure, Leo could easily provide them with food and necessities they needed since he had plenty of money to spare but it would be best if they work for it to avoid putting all their egg in one basket. Not only would they be funding the protection of La Push, they would also be adding money to their savings so they won't miss much on their lives.

The positive effect on the economy of the budding town was also something the elders were looking forward to. They had plenty of projects they wanted to implement but lacked the funds to do so. These businesses would see to it that the Reservations coffers would get a steady income coming in from taxes and monthly tithes that the Reservation thrived on.

The task that Leo gave to the Quilleute Elders was to make sure that they had the necessary legal aide to put up the business without the government reaching down their throats. They got this down pat without a hitch thanks to their connections in the local government.

The first business that Leo funded was a garage they named _Wolf's Claw_. Billy would be in charge of this business due to his association to the best mechanic in town – Jacob Black, who would be the lead mechanic with Embry and Quil as his Wingmen, so to speak. They were paid, of course, so they enthusiastically jumped at the offer. It was an added plus that they liked to work on machines so they didn't complain at all the work dropped on their laps. Billy and Sue worked on the kids' schedules so they won't have any problems when schools comes a knocking.

The first customer came in two days after the opening and they started coming in droves a few days later when they discovered that Jacob, Embry, and Quil offered quality services despite being kids at reasonable prices.

Business was booming and they started getting clients from Forks and Port Angeles so Billy offered his services as a driver for their make-shift tow truck since the kids were underage. They also had to hire some the locals since they needed extra hands during peak season.

The second business was for the current wolf pack. The _Quilleute Woodshop_ was for Sam, Jared, and Paul since they didn't get to go to college due to their jobs as protectors of the tribe and lacked the credential for proper work to earn a living.

With their expertise in working with anything made of wood, the shop became a hit with the locals and tourists. The locals would hire them for construction work while the tourists would bombard them with orders of their many hand-carved pieces. Harry Clearwater and old man Quil joined them in this venture since they had experiences working with wood as well though they did introduce leather work since this was Harry's specialty.

This was also the time that Freya and Leo met Emily, Sam's fiancée. Since she was in the know of the secret, the magical introduced her to their world. She was shocked at first but eventually accepted everything. Much to the English Black's shock, Emily mothered them the same way Sue did for the duo.

Freya itched to help Emily with her scarring problem but Leo told her to hold on to that since they didn't know how she would take it. Besides, Sam loves her with the scar so it won't make any difference if it was there or not.

Emily also worked in the shop helping 'her' boys manage the orders and make sure that they had a schedule to work on. She was a god-send for the shifters because they wouldn't know what to do first due to the number of orders pouring into the shop.

Finally, an impromptu business venture opened up when Sue, Seth, and Leah suggested that they open up a small café in downtown La Push. Leo immediately pounced on the idea since it was a dream of his to open up a café and share his cooking to the world.

They all have their specialty which gave them the leeway to open a café and accommodate the menu that came with it. Leah and Seth had training with Leo so they were somewhat experts on breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu which was complimented by their mother's expertise. Sue would concentrate on baking sweet treats while helping out in the kitchen if the customers were pouring in.

Leo also helped by preparing some meals at home that was in their menu and place them on an expanded box with a stasis enchantment courtesy of Freya to be delivered to the shop. He loved the fact that the box was returned everyday completely empty with a note from Sue on which food got compliments from the patrons.

A month later, _Café Quilleute_ was a big hit with the locals and tourists.

Since the kids weren't underfoot, Freya and Leo were able to allocate time on their respective projects and studies. However, most of it was dedicated to the protection of their new home.

They were able to come up with a ward stone that would emit a continuous pulse of _perimeter charm_ tied to a vampire's signature within a 500-meter radius. The enchantment would be tied to a map similar to the _Marauder's Map_ though this one would be the map of La Push and the surrounding areas. Any vampires that came into range of the pulse from a ward stone would be automatically identified and labeled on the map. This would make it easier to direct the wolves to their prey just in case they were far off the mark.

To this effect, Freya needed to modify the necklace worn by Sam so they could enter their form of mental communication since he was the Alpha. Similar necklaces would be worn by Leo and Freya so they could sync in with their mental communication any time there was need. The Black Enchantress also made a mental note to add the signature of the Spirit Wolves on the ward stone so they would also appear on the map.

They weren't worried about powering the stones once set in place since the ambient magic in La Push, as well as the magical Ley Lines that branched off from the main source in the mountains was enough to give the enchantments enough juice to work in perpetuity.

Due to the large area they needed to cover, Leo had to contact Liverwhacker for a large order of ward stones from the shop in Merlin's Street, a thousand of them to be exact; to be delivered to the Den. The goblin told them that it would take 2 months for the order to be filled since it was too much for one shop to accommodate so they had to contact similar stores around the United States and have it delivered to their branch in Seattle.

The duo immediately approved of the purchase since they could work around the delay since the wolves were doing a good job patrolling with the help of a very large lion or, on occasion, a shadow wolf to cover more ground.

Aside from studying magic in the Den, Leo and Freya also took time to visit the town of La Push and integrate themselves with the locals. It was during this time that the duo was introduced to Billy's best friend, Chief Office Charlie Swan, who was in charge of the police station down in Forks. They discovered that she had a daughter named Isabella Swan, though Charlie stressed that she wanted to be called Bella, who was studying in Forks High School.

Freya was glad that her distant relatives were doing well but couldn't get close to them in terms of relationship since that would give away their real identities. Freya didn't want to ruin their chance at a completely new life just because she wanted renew old acquaintances.

Besides, for her, Leo and the Quilleutes were all the family she would ever need.

It was a passing comment from Charlie about her Bella dating Edward Cullen that made the duo of magic users curious. They could see the stiffening in Billy's posture upon the mention of the Cullen kid. They wanted to ask Billy immediately but they knew that the Black Elder would tell them if there was need.

They wouldn't have to wait that long to be introduced to the mysterious Cullen Family of Forks, Washington.

* * *

**End of Chapter 09**

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	10. The Mysterious Cullen Family

**Author's Note:**

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* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight. I'm just using them as base for my creative juices to flow. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 10: The Mysterious Cullen Family**

* * *

**September 16, 2005**

**10:20PM**

Leo just finished perfecting the rune set needed for the ward stones when his mobile phone rang. He picked it up and checked the caller ID. The call was coming from Billy Black. He pressed the answer button and received the call.

"Hello, Billy. What can I do for you?" Leo said cheerfully. He just finished a painstaking project of coming up with a new runic set for the ward stone to detect vampires and wolves. It took a week of study to determine their unique signatures and a lot of parchments to perfect but he did it.

"_Leo, are you and Freya free right now? We have a situation."_ Billy said seriously from the other line.

This brought Leo up short. Billy was never serious on the phone and if he was now then there's trouble brewing.

"No, we're free. Freya is in the library. What happened?" he inquired immediately as he exited the attic en route to the library to his sister.

"_Charlie's daughter, Bella, is currently lost in the woods. I just got a call from Charlie before I called you. I want you and the pack to join me at Charlie's house and coordinate a search for her."_

"I see. What did Charlie say?" he asked curiously.

"_Charlie said that she went up to Bella's room to check up on her when he arrived home from his shift. He said that Bella's been acting weird for a week now so he always checks up on her to make sure that she's okay. He discovered that Bella's door was open and she wasn't in her room. He discovered Bella's prings going off into the woods behind his house. He doesn't have the experience in tracking so he called me to ask some of the guys to help comb the forest and find her."_

"Understood." Leo agreed with the plan. "I'll pick up Freya from the library and you can pick us up at the entrance of the path leading to the Den. We'll plan the search when we get to Charlie's house. Will the pack be going with you?"

"_No, they're already on their way. They will do an initial patrol around the house but will wait for us to arrive and search the woods with some of Charlie's squad. We will have to plan a search pattern from there. The Forest of Forks is quite large and dense. Not to mention that it's populated by bears and some stray wolves from the nearby reserve."_

"Ouch." Leo winced. Bears and wolves were dangerous for normal humans but not to a pack of wolf shifters, a wizard, and a witch. "Alright, we're on our way, see you on the road."

"_Thanks Leo. See you there in 10 minutes."_

Leo replaced the phone back in his pocket and entered the library. He saw his sister reading a book on _Defensive Charms_ on her favorite sofa.

"Sis, we have a problem. Billy called and told me that Charlie is asking him for help in finding Bella. He thinks that she's lost in the woods behind their house. The pack is already on their way to Charlie and we will be meeting Billy at the entrance of the path leading here."

"Bella's lost?" Freya asked incredulously as she banished the book to its shelf before standing up. "Why in the world is she in the woods at this time of the night?"

"Don't know." Leo replied with a shrug. "Charlie told Billy that Bella's been acting strange for a week now. He went up to check on her and found her missing. Her trail outside the house led into the woods."

Freya nodded and summoned a pair of heavy jackets for the both of them. The wolves wouldn't get cold due to their high temperature but the duo wasn't so lucky. The duo easily caught the jackets once it zoomed into the room.

Once the jacket was in place and casting _warming charms_ on themselves, they both _apparated_ out of the Den with a soft crack.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It didn't take long for Billy to arrive to pick them up before making their way to Charlie's house in Forks.

Billy briefed them along the way that his best friend mentioned in passing that Bella had been acting strange ever since she attended her own party in the Cullen's house. Charlie didn't know why but didn't pry since both he and Bella valued privacy.

"Billy, what's the secret behind the Cullen's family? When you introduced us to Charlie, he mentioned Edward Cullen being with his daughter during the conversation and you stiffened?" Leo asked curiously. Freya was silent as she listened to the conversation. Billy released a loud sigh.

"There is a history between the Cullens and the Quilleutes. I can't tell you right now but I promise I'll explain everything after we find Bella and hold a meeting in the Den. Can you hold out until then?" asked Billy as he concentrated in driving towards Forks. He needed to concentrate since he was speeding like mad.

"No problem, Billy." Leo said with a nod. "I didn't mean to pry but I get a feeling that this is connected with the legends."

"You have no idea, Leo. You have no idea." was all Billy reply before silence reigned in the truck.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Thanks to Billy's daredevil driving, they entered Forks in under 30 minutes and Charlie's house 5 minutes later. When they got there, the house was surrounded by police cars and some of the officers milling around and talking. Leo could see the pack standing in one corner talking to the Swan patriarch.

Billy easily parked his truck beside Charlie's cruiser and all three of them got out and approached the group.

"We're here, Charlie. We can now start tracking Bella in the woods." said Billy with Leo and Freya behind him looking around.

He didn't know that Freya was scanning the surrounding area for any trace of magical signature. Her eyebrows rose to her hairline as she recognized the signature of a vampire and this was coming from the house and out into the woods. She increased the range of her search and discovered the signature going the same way as Bella's into the woods. She immediately nudged Leo and looked straight into his eyes which prompted his brother to stare back. Using a burst of _Legilimency_, she sent her findings to his mind which he easily received and processed.

Leo's face turned grim. There was a vampire in the area and it seems Bella went after it.

Charlie saw the two and immediately greeted them, obliviously to the information transfer they were having.

"Leo, Freya, glad you could come." Charlie said in relief. He immediately liked the two the first time he met them and Billy never stopped praising the duo as they helped out in the Reservation.

"No problem, Charlie." said Leo with a tight smile. "We'll do all we can to find Bella. Can you tell us everything you know? Don't leave anything out. Any little information would greatly help."

Charlie nodded and launched into his tale.

"I arrived home when my shift ended around 10:15 or so. When I got in, I immediately went up to check on Bella. The room was open so I went in and found out that she wasn't there. I didn't see any signs of struggle in her room so I concluded that she left on her own accord. The only thing out of place in the room was her scrapbook, which she usually hides from me, was on the bed, and the window was open, letting the cold air in. I went out and checked the front but didn't see any sign of her. When I checked the back, I saw her tracks leading into the woods. I only saw her shoeprints and no one else so she's alone when she entered. I don't have any experience in tracking so I immediately called up Billy."

Leo nodded and suddenly thought of something.

"You also mentioned that Bella was acting weird a week now?" he asked the clearly distraught Chief of Police. Charlie nodded and sighed.

"Yeah. Ever since she got back from the party that the Cullens set up for her, she's been moping around and not talking to anybody. She spent a lot of time with that scrapbook of hers and barely talked to me. Sure, she does her usual routine in the house but that's about it." admitted Charlie. "Heck, Edward even stopped coming after the party. He is usually around everyday hanging out with my daughter."

Leo couldn't help but link that event with Bella's disappearance. His gut instinct was yelling at him that there was more to the Cullens than meets the eye and Billy held all the answers. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind. They were going to have a meeting later so everything would be revealed. The important thing right now was to find Bella.

"Why don't you check on your squad, Charlie." suggested Leo. "We're going to coordinate a search pattern and we will tell you when we start."

Charlie nodded and left the group. Leo immediately nudged the pack and Billy with a tilt of his head to the side to follow him. He walked a bit of ways from hearing distance of the police squad and Charlie before addressing the group.

"Freya found something as she scanned the house and the grounds." Leo promptly informed them. "She'll explain everything."

"When we arrived, I immediately scanned the surrounding area for any magical signature just in case if Bella's disappearance was caused by anything supernatural. I was able to isolate the signature of a vampire from the leftover magic in the area. I could even pick up Billy's signature, especially in the living room. However, the stronger trace was on the second floor just inside that window." explained Freya as she pointed to an open window above them.

Billy turned to where she was pointing and was shocked.

"That's Bella's room!" he exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Freya said with a grim nod. "The strongest trace I could isolate is in Bella's room and the tree across the window. The trace led into the windows exactly where Charlie said that Bella's tracks ended."

"So we can safely say that Bella went after the vampire. If she was abducted then there wouldn't be any tracks at all. A vampire will make sure of that." Leo said in a cold tone. He knew that vampires were fleet-footed so they could easily traverse an open ground without leaving any footprints. That was one of the reasons they remained undiscovered by normal humans. It was thanks to the wolves' powerful sense of smell that they could be traced.

"We need to start the search immediately." Sam said with a nod. Vampires were never good news and a vampire with Chief Swan's daughter was worst. This got a nod from both Jared and Paul.

"I agree." Leo said with a nod of agreement to Sam's suggestion. "I suggest that we go in on our animal forms except for Freya. She will ride with me so she could be our back-up just in case we are attacked. We will follow the scent. If we find her, Freya will immediately check on her before calling Billy to relay the message to Charlie. We'll bring her back safe and sound."

This got a nod from everyone, a look of determination in their eyes.

"You guys can start now. I'll inform Charlie that you started your search. I suggest you change deeper into the woods so they won't find your tracks. Good luck and be careful." suggested before leaving the group.

"Let's go. But let's stop before we phase. Freya is going to add something to your bangles that would make shifting a whole lot easier to deal with." Leo said with a nod from Freya.

"We'll track the scent first then you follow us." Sam instructed before moving to the back of the house along with the two shifters and started sniffing out the vampire and Bella's scent.

Sam easily found Bella's scent and Paul pointed out the shoeprints Bella left. They followed it into the woods, keeping their senses alert just in case there were vampires hiding in the darkness of the forest. There were out of sight after 5 minutes of walk before Freya called everyone to a halt.

"Hold out your bangles and remain perfectly still." Freya commanded before starting the enchantment that she and her brother worked out two days ago. It was a few minutes later that she had three magical counterparts of the bangles floating in the air before slowly settling down on the originals, which glowed for a moment before dying out.

"There. That should do it. The new enchantment I placed on your bangles will hold your clothes when you change so you don't need to remove them before you phase. When you change back, your clothes would instantly appear." explained Freya with a smug smile on his face. She came up with a lot of new enchantments thanks to her research with her brother. If Perenelle found out what she could do then she would be fainting from shock.

"That's useful." said Jared with a grin. Being a shifter was easier ever since these two arrived to assist. They were eternally grateful for the assistance they gave to the pack. Heck, the English Black even gave them livelihoods so they wouldn't have to worry about their future with all the patrolling they have to do around La Push.

"Alright, my beloved wolves, we have a girl to find and a possible vampire to barbecue." exclaimed Leo cheerfully before chanting into Griever. The pack laughed at Leo's cheerful demeanor before phasing without bothering to remove their shorts since they trusted Freya to do a perfect job. Their trust was rewarded when there wasn't any torn clothing surrounding them.

Sam nodded to begin following the scent when Freya made herself comfortable on Griever's back.

"_Damn! A vampire scent always hurts my nose. It's so sweet."_ mentally complained Paul as they ran into the woods following Sam and Griever. Thanks to the necklace Sam, Leo, and Freya were wearing, they could easily hear the mental communication shared by the pack when they were in wolf form.

"_Suck it up, Paul."_ came Leo's reply. _"It's not so bad. It smells like candy."_

"_That's easy for you to say. You're nose is not wired against vampires. Consider it as an early-warning system for us."_ came Jared's mental voice. It was true; they discovered when Leo joined their patrols that his nose picked it up as a normal scent. For the wolves, however, it was disgustingly sweet and hurts their nose if held long enough.

"_Children!" _chided Freya through the connection. _"Now is not the time act like kids. Sam, are you picking up anything from the bangle?"_

"_Nothing." _answered Sam. _"If a vampire was here then it's long gone now."_

"_Then I suggest we speed up. Bella's been in this forest for hours now so we need to move fast. It's very cold and a human is not equipped to survive the night like us. Hold on tight, sis. We're going into overdrive."_ came Leo's warning before sprinting off in a burst of speed with the wolves easily catching up and matching him stride for stride.

Freya agreed with his brother's assessment as she held on to his rich mane for support. If she didn't have any _warming charm_ on then she would be frozen like a Popsicle right now from the speed they were traveling.

It was 10 minutes later that Sam reported that Bella's scent was getting stronger. The only downside to that news was the vampire's scent. It was getting stronger as well. Five minutes later, they found Bella curled up on the forest floor, unconscious.

Freya immediately jumped down from Grievers back and started sending diagnostic spells on the girl's prone form.

"_She's alright but she's suffering from mild hypothermia because of the cold plus the water that clung to her clothes and skin."_ Freya mentally reported to the group as she cast a _warming charm _on Bella. _"She's unconscious but she doesn't seem to be hurt. There's no presence of vampire venom in her body so she wasn't bitten though there's a week-old wound on her hand, possibly cut from a glass or something very sharp due to the depth of the laceration. I detect a massive increase in her emotional levels so she must have been subjected to extreme stress. It could be sudden or a slow build-up. That would explain Charlie's explanation earlier."_

"_Good."_ Sam mentally exclaimed in relief. _"Now all we need is to bring her back to the house. Freya, can you call Billy and tell him to meet us in the woods where Bella's tracks ends. Make sure that he's alone so we can carry Bella with us while we're phased. It's faster that way."_

"_Why don't we just _apparate_ there? It's faster." _ Freya asked as she fished out her phone from her pocket.

"_Because, your method of travel is noisy and I noticed that it's louder if you're carrying a passenger. Also, there are cops patrolling the woods and you wouldn't want to appear smack dab in the middle of a search party. If we're in animal form, we can easily smell them coming from a mile away so we can take precautions."_ explained Sam.

Freya nodded and dialed Billy, who picked up rather quickly. She explained the situation and informed him that they'll be back in 20 minutes tops.

"_Billy said that he'll try his best to steer the search parties away from our entry point. He said that Sam's idea was a good one. He will meet us at the edge of the woods. He didn't inform Charlie yet."_ she reported to the group.

"_Good, now all we need to do is to come up with a way to carry Bella with us without jostling her around."_ said Sam to the group as he eyed Bella's form as she was floated up by Freya. It was a good idea too since the forest floor was very cold being wet and all.

"_That's easy. I suggest one of you wolves carry her. Sis will cast a _sticking charm_ on her to make sure that she doesn't fall off. A _warming charm_ as well so she won't get freeze up from the biting cold our speed would cause. So who's the lucky wolf to become shuttle service for the damsel in distress?"_ Leo added the last part with a cheeky grin on his face revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. If a bear or a normal wolf saw that grin, they would have bolted for the hills as if hundreds of fur trappers armed to the teeth were on their tails.

Sam looked at the two wolves before his eyes settled on Paul who immediately groaned when his alpha looked at him.

"_Fine. Put the leech lover on my back so we can get going." _Paul mentally said with a sigh which caused a small whine to escape his muzzle.

"_Leech lover?"_ asked Leo as he watched Freya levitate and position Bella on Paul's shaggy back before placing a _sticking charm_ and an overpowered _warming charm_ on her.

"_We'll explain later. I think Billy would want to talk to you guys later after we get back."_ said Sam while giving Paul a glare. The gray wolf seemed to shrink from the glare his alpha was giving him.

"_No worries, Sam. I think I know what we're going to talk about but a confirmation would be nice." _said Leo in a cheerful voice before he glanced curiously at her sister who shifted into her shadow wolf form. "_Why did you change?"_

"_We already found Bella and there's nothing I can do to her at this point. Besides, fives noses are better than four."_ Freya mentally explained to his brother as she sniffed around and stretched to work out her kinks before the fast run back to the starting point.

She wasn't worried in going paw-to-paw with the shifters and her brother. She was a magical wolf and a shadow wolf had speed in spades. Her lithe form was built for running and she was confident that she'll keep up with the four easily.

"_She's right." _came Sam's mental voice tinge with approval_. "We are going to go back to Charlie's house in a diamond formation. I'll be up front to lead. Jared and Freya, I want you to flank Paul to keep his sides protected. Leo, I want you to take the back position. Your size would deter anyone coming behind us."_

They all shifted into position Sam suggested and started running at full speed towards Charlie's house to deliver their burden.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Sam slowed down followed by everyone as they neared Charlie's house. They made good time since they traveled at full speed. Instead of 20 minutes, they got there in 10. They slowly made their way to Billy who was leaning on a tree.

Sam phased to human form first with his shorts on which shocked Billy a bit since he knew that shifters need to take of their clothes off before shifting or it would get ripped. He saw Freya's smug smile when she shifted to human form and immediately attributed such miracle to her.

Everyone shifted back except for Paul who still carried Bella on his back. Sam walked up to him and took his burden, carrying Bella bridal style. Freya immediately removed the _warming charm_ he placed on her since she already dispelled the _sticking charm_ first so Sam could get her off Paul's back.

Paul shifted back and sighed before murmuring about needing a bath when he gets home.

"Thank goodness she's safe." exclaimed Billy as he approached Bella's prone form in Sam's arms. "Where did you find her?"

"We found her curled up on the forest floor a few miles out. According to Freya, she's suffering from mild hypothermia but would be alright. We made good time since we ran back here at full speed without hurting her thanks to Freya's spells." explained Sam as he moved towards the house and back to Charlie. Everyone followed behind him.

"And the vampire?" Billy asked the group who shook their heads in negative.

"No vampire though the scent was there. If there was a vampire then it's long gone before we arrived. The scent trailed off to the north leaving Forks so we didn't follow since it's outside La Push boundary." explained Jared since he was the one who picked up the vampire's scent as it left the place where they found Bella.

Billy nodded but stayed silent. They exited the woods and walked to the front of the house where they saw a haggard Charlie with his officers looking disgruntled. Leo mentally agreed that Billy was correct. The police offers of Forks were not equipped in searching the woods unlike the Quilleutes. He and Freya were an exception since they had experience and magic on their side.

"Bella!" Charlie shouted when she saw her daughter being carried by Sam. He immediately ran to the large Quilleute and peered down expectantly to her sleeping form "What happened to her?"

Sam wasn't able to say anything since Freya beat her to it.

"We found her in the woods after 10 minutes of walking and following her tracks. I checked up on her since I had a bit of medical training and discovered that she was suffering from mild hypothermia since she was lying on the ground, wet and shivering. We warmed her as best as we could before making our way back as fast as possible so we can get her into the house and into something warm." explained Freya to a clearly distraught Chief of Police.

"Thank you everyone." Charlie said giving everyone a grateful nod. "Can you take her to the couch in the living room? Billy can take you there. I need to send these guys off since I pulled all of them out of the station to form a search team."

"No problem, Charlie. We'll take care of it." Billy said with a nod to the Chief of Police before herding some and the rest to the front door and opened it. He pointed Sam to the living room.

Sam carried Bella to the couch and tucked her in as requested by Charlie before walking to the window which gave him a clear view of everyone outside. Seeing Charlie still talking to the cops, he turned to Freya who was covering the shivering Bella with a quilt she got from the vacant couch.

"Can you run another check on her, Freya?" asked Sam. "I want to make sure that she's okay. The coast is clear. I'll warn you if someone's coming in."

Freya nodded and started casting her diagnostic charms again.

"She's alright. She just needs to be kept warm to increase her temperature a bit." she informed him getting a thankful nod from the alpha wolf. She turned to Billy. "Do you know where Charlie keeps medical supplies, like a hot pack or something?"

"Hmmm…I'm not sure but I think there's a hot pack in the fishing cabinet since he bring one sometimes if the weather is too cold." Billy said before moving to a cabinet on the far side of the living room. He opened it and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for.

"Aha! Found it!"Billy shouted triumphantly as he raised the hot pack over his head like a trophy.

Freya just rolled her eyes at the childish elder and summoned it from his hand causing Billy to yelp in surprise. She caught it easily and gave the pouting Black a smug grin. She looked at Sam who was still looking out the window and decided the coast was clear. She opened the hot pack and filled it with water before hitting it with a _heating charm_. She kept up the spell until it was nice and toasty before stopping. She moved closer to Bella's sleeping form and placed the hot pack on her feet since that was where she was coldest according to her _diagnostic charm. _

-x-x-x-x-x-

After seeing off the last of his squad, Charlie immediately made a beeline for the living room to check up on her daughter and the Quilleutes. He found Billy seated on his favorite chair; Sam, Jared, and Paul leaning on the wall beside the window, Leo checking out his fishing equipment, and Freya hovering over a sleeping Bella.

"How is she?" asked Charlie as he moved closer to the couch and checked her daughter.

"She's okay, Charlie." said Freya with a smile which made him sigh in relief. "I already applied basic treatment for mild hypothermia so she'll be alright in the morning. I used your hot pack to keep her warm, I hope you don't mind."

Charlie shook his head and smiled at her.

"No problem. Thank you for looking after her." He said in gratitude before addressing everyone in the room. "Thank you for finding her. I'm not sure what I'd do if I lost her."

"No need to thank us, Charlie. We're happy to help." said his best friend who was making himself comfortable on his favorite couch. "Do you still need us for anything? The boys, Freya, and Leo need to get home since it's a bit late."

"No no. I think I already imposed so much on you guys." said Charlie with a shake of his head. "If you need anything, just make sure you give me a call alright?"

Everyone nodded and gave their farewell before leaving the house. Charlie looked down on her daughter with a sigh, happy that she was safe. He brushed a stray hair from her head to the side and gazed at her peacefully sleeping face.

He was relieved that she was safe but couldn't help but frown when a sense of foreboding hit him at thinking what tomorrow might bring.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was half-past midnight that the group arrived at the Den. Since the house was empty, they decided to hold their conversation in the dining room. Leo immediately took to the kitchen and brought out the ingredients before starting to magically prepare them for a tray of sandwich. He also made some hot chocolate since it was a cold night.

It was 20 minutes later that he exited the kitchen floating two trays laden with sandwiches and mugs of hot chocolates and placed them on the table. He invited everyone to enjoy before sitting down and took a mug for himself and a slice of sandwich. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Billy started to talk.

"I think you guys want to know about the Cullens?" asked Billy as he eyed Freya and Leo.

"Yes, I already have an idea what you guys are talking about when it comes to the Cullens but a confirmation would be useful at this point since I don't want to assume anything." admitted Leo with a grim smile.

"Can you tell us?" Sam said stiffly. He knew that these two were smart and could easily piece the clues together. Besides, having them discover the secret first wouldn't break the treaty.

"Edward Cullen is a vampire though I'm not sure about the rest of the family. But if I was to assume anything, I would guess, the entire Cullen family are vampires."

Billy gave Leo a stiff nod.

"The Cullens are a family of vampires that moved here during the time of my father, Ephraim Black. I didn't tell you this because it wasn't our secret to tell but considering that you already know then it would be safe to tell you." explained the elder Black.

"If that is the case then why haven't the shifters attacked them; or better yet, why didn't your father attack them?" Freya asked curiously.

"My father, Ephraim Black, was the leader of the Quilleute Tribe and its protector. He, Levi Uley, and Quil Ateara II were the shifters at that time. While they were patrolling, they found the Cullen Family feasting on the blood of a fallen deer. They were about to attack but was weary due to their numbers. They were only three shifters on their side but the Cullen family had seven in their ranks. Fortunately for them, Carlise Cullen, the head of the family, negotiated a peace treaty so they were safe." Billy explained to answer Freya's question.

"Peace treaty?" asked Leo curiously, tilting his head to the side.

It was Sam who answered this time.

"The peace treaty between the Quilleute and the Cullens were very simple and came with conditions. First, they stay outside the boundary of La Push. We call it the treaty line. If they cross it then they break the treaty. Second, they bite and drink the blood of humans then they break the treaty. And third, if they turn a human into a vampire then they break the treaty. If any one of these conditions is broken then they will be treated as enemy and killed on sight." Sam said grimly.

"Hmmm…wait a minute…the second condition. You mean they don't drink human blood?" Leo asked incredulously. This was the first time he had heard of a vampire NOT drinking human blood. It was their food source and the source of their supernatural powers.

Billy shook his head and explained.

"They are animal drinkers and we believe them. You see, normal vampires have red eyes; however, the Cullen's eyes are amber, almost gold. This is one way to determine their diet. Red eyes means they feast on human blood and amber or gold eyes if they are satiated from drinking animal blood. If they have black eyes then they are hungry…very hungry and needs blood as soon as possible."

"Amazing." exclaimed Freya. "This is the first time I heard of a vampire, more so a coven of vampires, feasting on animal blood and not humans. I didn't think it was possible."

"It's possible, alright. They're still alive and had been living on and off Forks every after a few years. They leave after 5 or 10 years or so to hide the fact that they're not aging and settle down somewhere else. They come back after the current generation is dead and start all over again. No one's the wiser." said Sam, amused at Freya's amusement. She was definitely a scholar.

"Now that answer's that question." quipped Leo gaining the attention of the group. "The next question to be asked is what does it have to do with Bella?"

Billy and the shifters knew that this revelation wouldn't be well received.

"According to Charlie, Bella met Edward Cullen in Forks High School. He didn't know the details but it was a month after she met him in school that they started going out as a couple. Jacob informed me that Bella was curious about the Cullens when they met down at First Beach having an outing with her classmates. Jacob told her of the Quilleute legends and she must have figured out what he was."

Leo and Freya looked at him incredulously, not believing what she said.

"Wait a bloody minute. You mean to tell me that Bella is having a relationship with a bloody vampire?" asked Leo with total belief in his voice. When he saw Billy's hesitant nod, he freaked.

"What in the world is that girl thinking? Meeting a vampire is bad enough. Having a relationship with one is worst. Who cares if they are not human blood drinkers but a vampire is a vampire. No matter how much control they have considering they've been hanging around humans there is always a big possibility that their control would snap. She'll be vampire food if that happens." ranted Leo as he stood up from his chair and started pacing back and forth much to the amusement of the shifters.

"Who knows what she's thinking but it's clear that she's in love with the leech." said Paul with a grin on his face. He liked it when Leo started ranting though he didn't want to be on the other end of that rant.

"Ooooh…if she isn't sick right now, I'll _apparate_ back to Charlie's house and smack her on the head to give her a modicum of sense. Sheesh! Coupling with a vampire? She is either desperate, picked it up from a romance novel or something; or she's just plain suicidal." Leo continued to rant. He turned to Billy and glared at the man. "Why in the world didn't you warn her? Or you could have warned Charlie and he could have to put a stop to all this nonsense."

"We can't or we would be breaking the treaty." exclaimed Billy holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. This was the first time he saw the wizard's temper and it scared him. He could feel something rising in the air and smothering them. He knew it was Leo's magic reacting to his temper.

"There's another treaty?" asked Freya as she hit her brother with an overpowered _calming charm_ which caused said brother to sigh and flopped down on his chair giving her a thankful smile. "Did you leave something out?"

"Those conditions you heard were for the vampires. Their condition for us is to never reveal their existence as vampires to the populace. In return, they wouldn't reveal the existence of the shapeshifters in our tribe. It was a condition for mutual self-preservation. None of the parties were ready to be revealed to the normal folk." answered Sam before gulping down the rest of his hot chocolate and eyeing the half-full mug Jared was holding. His beta saw his look and immediately gulped down his drink and giving the pouting Sam a grin. Cheeky bastard.

"What do we do now?" Leo asked wearily. The night's revelation drained him emotionally. A human falling in love with a vampire? That's like throwing a sheep in a wolf's den.

"Nothing," Sam said immediately. "One, according to Jared, Edward's scent was leaving Forks so we can assume that he's no longer in the general vicinity. Two, as long as they don't cross the treaty line, we don't attack, and finally, we don't want to enter their territory since that would break the treaty. This requires mutual consent."

Leo nodded in resignation. He really didn't like the wait-and-see game. It left everything to chance and he didn't like being unprepared.

"Fine. But Freya and I will look into the Cullens and see what we can dig up."

"You could always check the hospital in Forks. I heard that Carlisle Cullen works there." said Jared helpfully.

"Thanks. That's a start." said Leo giving the shifter a grateful smile before standing up from his chair. "I think let's all call it a night. All of you are free to stay if you want. You already know where the rooms are so if you'll excuse me, I'll go to bed and sleep. I'm going to have a long day tomorrow trying to find out more about the Cullens. Good night."

Leo disappeared from the dining room with a loud crack signifying that he was emotionally tired since he lacked the control to minimize the noise of his magical travel.

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End of Chapter 10


	11. Warding La Push

**I would like to extend my thanks to FantasyLover74 for being there to bounce ideas on. Don't forget to visit my blog! Reviews are welcome too.  
**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight. **

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**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 11: Warding La Push**

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**September 17, 2005**

**10:15AM**

Leo woke up to the blaring of his alarm clock. He made mental note to set it for 10:00AM since he didn't get much sleep last night due to the incident with Bella. He spent hours thinking about the idiocy of a human falling in love with a vampire until he finally dozed off.

Despite having 5 hours of sleep which was usually enough for him, Leo was feeling weak and mentally drained but he couldn't stop now. The only way to get proper rest was to finally satiate his curiosity of the mysterious Cullens.

He finally decided to just do the research he had planned with Freya before putting this event to the back of his mind to be forgotten. If the Cullens were gone for good then it was good news for him. The earlier the young Swan forgets her vampire lover, the better.

He walked into the dining room and was surprised to find his breakfast already waiting for him. His sister was in her usual seat enjoying a steaming cup of tea while reading the Daily Prophet.

"Good morning, sis." Leo greeted sleepily as he sat in his favorite spot.

"Top of the morning, Leo." greeted Freya with a nod then observed his brother's rather tired facade. "You look tired…didn't get much sleep?"

Leo shook his head as he poured himself a cup of tea. He took a sip before answering.

"No. Thinking about Bella and Edward Cullen's idiotic relationship was keeping me awake. I was able to doze off a few hours ago and just woke up. You, however, don't look tired at all." explained Leo though the last part came out as an accusation than a statement of fact. How in the world was she able to sleep with all the things going on?

"Simple. I shoved the memory of the night's events deep inside my _Occlumency_ shield and locked it up tight so I won't have to actively think about it. Thanks to that, I slept like a log. I brought up the memory again AFTER I woke up and pondered on the implications." Freya said with a smug smile on her face. She instinctively knew his brother forgot that little application of the Mind Arts. His brother might brag of being a scholar but he was still forgetful to a fault.

"Cheeky sister." he mock-growled at his sister before noticing the existence of breakfast on the table. "Did you make all this?"

"No. I'm pants in the kitchen, remember?" said Freya. "Leah came by earlier and brought us some of the breakfast Sue cooked. She knew that we were up late last night because of Bella so she sent us breakfast because she knew that you'd be sleeping late.

"Bless her." said Leo in gratitude as he dug into his plate. "This is really good. Sue is a pretty good cook."

"Yes, she is." agreed Freya. "Why do you think her _Café Quilleute_ was popular? It was definitely her cooking. I heard that her baked treats were the best sellers."

"I definitely agree that they're good. I tried one myself and couldn't get enough of it." Leo declared with a smile on his face. "Anyway, are you busy today?"

Freya shook her head before putting down the paper, giving her brother all her attention.

"No. I plan to just stay at home or maybe drive to Forks and check out the stores there. I heard there's a quaint book shop that's selling some rare muggle books. I want to see if it's true." Freya admitted. "Why? Do you have something planned?"

"Not really but if you're going to Forks then maybe you can swing by the hospital and ask about Carlisle Cullen? Jared told me last night that he works there as a doctor." said Leo though there was a slight hint of disbelief in his voice. A vampire working in a hospital and didn't kill the patients? It seems that the Cullens don't do normal.

Freya nodded, agreeing with the plan.

"I can do that. I'll drop by Forks General first and ask around before I look for that bookshop. What are you going to do for the day?" asked Freya.

"I'm going to town and meet up with Billy. I have a few more questions for him about the Cullens. I want to hire the goblins to do a little bit of digging for me but I need to get their names first." said Leo as he finished his breakfast. He made a mental note to drop by Sue's café and grab a few treats for the road later.

"That's good. I'll leave in an hour then. The earlier we get the information, the better." agreed Freya in which his brother nodded in agreement with her decision.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was 30 minutes later that Leo parked his truck outside the _Wolf's Claw_ and walked into the garage to see what the boys were doing. He looked around and saw that there were three vehicles currently being serviced by the boys, one each. Jacob was under the hood of a rather expensive looking Ford pick-up, Quil was removing the tires of a sedan, and Embry was finishing up his work on a convertible.

He couldn't help but admire Embry's physique since the teen was working without his shirt on like the pack. From the looks of it, he was close to phasing since he was growing like a weed, not as tall as Jacob or the pack of course, but his 5,10 frame was nothing to be scoffed at. Spending months working on cars also improves his musculature. He could see a forming 6-pack there somewhere and his muscles stretched and bulged as he worked on the convertible. Leo definitely approved of the change.

He shook his head to clear the cobwebs that Embry's physique was giving him. It was not a good idea to have those thoughts when the subject of those thoughts was underage. Sure he liked Embry but he didn't want to make a move so early that would make it hard for the teen. Muggles were rather touchy regarding that sort of thing.

"Hi boys, how's it hanging?" he shouted to get their attention.

"Hi, Leo" greeted Embry since he was the one who reacted first though he could hear the grunt from the others while they were working. Leo couldn't help but stare at the boy's chocolate brown eyes before mentally berating himself. _"Damn it. Get a hold of yourself. Stop acting like a stupid fan-girl."_

"Morning, Embry. Working hard I see." He observed as he checked the convertible Embry was polishing, trying hard not to stare at the teen's sweaty pecs.

"Yep. Jake and I just finished cleaning up the engine an hour ago and I'm just giving it a last minute clean-up to since the owner would be coming in any minute now to pick it up." explained Embry while giving him a smile. Leo mentally agreed that the smile should be illegal, especially to him. Thankfully, Jacob finished whatever he was doing on the pick-up and took up his attention.

"Hey, Leo. What brings you here?" asked Jacob as he wiped his greasy hands on an equally greasy shirt.

"Dropped by to check up on you guys before going to have a talk with Billy. I haven't seen you three since you seldom visit the Den and busy with all the work here in the garage." he said sincerely. He really did miss the trio and was lonely with seeing Embry around.

"Sorry about that, Leo. We've been rather swamped with work lately and just couldn't find the time. If we don't have any scheduled work this weekend, we could drop by and hang out." Embry said with a sad smile on his face. Leo patted him on the back and gave him a one-armed hug which practically cheered up the teen. He noted that Embry's core temperate was up. He would be phasing soon, a few months at the most.

"Don't worry about it, Em. I understand that you guys loved doing your job and I'm not going to take it away from you. You and the rest are always welcome at the Den so drop by when you have time. I'm always there anyway and if I'm not, just make yourselves at home." He declared with a smile directed at the teen he was holding. His statement rewarded him a huge smile from the teen that tugged at his heart.

"Anyway, Jacob, is Billy around?" he asked as he turned away from Embry. He didn't want to look at that smile any longer or he might end up doing something inappropriate.

Jacob nodded and jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the house.

"He's in the living room watching a game. Just go right in." said the boy with a grin on his face.

Leo nodded and gave Embry one more pat on the back.

"Well, be seeing you guys. Drop by the Den anytime you're free." said Leo as a farewell before walking out the garage towards the house.

Leo didn't see a pair of longing, warm chocolate brown eyes intensely staring at his back as he exited the shop.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was half-past three that Leo finally arrived at the Den. Freya called him up as he was driving back home that she just left Forks General. One of the interns working there told her that Dr. Cullen resigned from his position last week and left. The good doctor didn't give any reasons as to why he resigned and where he was going though he did mention in passing that it was a family emergency of some sort.

Both decided that the Cullens left Forks, they just didn't know why.

Billy might not be fount of information regarding the Cullens but he sure knew their names. He quickly penned a letter indicating his intentions and sent it to Spleensmash via Fawkes and wait for the reply.

* * *

**September 22, 2005**

**8:15AM**

Leo was sitting in the Attic reading a tome on _Soul Bonds_ when his study was interrupted by the arrival of Fawkes bearing a three letters, depositing them on the table before disappearing again to who knows where. He frowned at the interruption since he was deeply researching his unnatural attraction to Embry. He didn't mind falling for the young Quilleute but he didn't like the fact that something was pushing him towards the decision and he was sure that it was his magic doing the pushing.

Being a scholar, more so a Battle Scholar, there was a deep need to determine the facts behind the phenomenon so he started researching. Thankfully, he had the entire Potter, Black, and Lestrange library for such a study neatly stacked in an expanded library in the Attic of Marauder's Den. The book he was reading now was written by an ancestor of his, William Potter, who did an in-depth study of this phase in a wizard's growth.

According to the William, Soul Bonds were rare; roughly one out of ten thousand were lucky enough to find their perfect match. The magic and soul didn't discriminate as to who they match with and whoever they are, it was 100% compatible.

All the bonded couple William interviewed said the same thing. When the two people who are intended for each other meet, their souls would automatically be drawn to each other until the bond settles once they copulate for the first time.

Leo cringed when he read that. Sure, Embry was quite delectable in a gangly way but he would never do any of the physical acts of love to an underage teen. Soul Bond be damned.

He also discovered within the tome that wizards and witches who soul-bonded with other species, like a veela or a werewolf, often reports the same attraction from the other party though it was intense due to their unique magical make-up. It was likened to an animal who finds their perfect mate in the same species. Despite the difference in their biological make-up; the soul, and in this case, magic, didn't discriminate.

Sighing, he closed the book and walked over to his study table to see who the letters came from.

The first was from Spleensmash reporting his findings regarding his request for some information on the Cullens and their whereabouts. The letter from the goblin lacked the current location of the Cullens but it did provide clear insight to the workings of the family.

According to Spleensmash's report, the Cullen started with Carlisle Cullen who was turned into a vampire in the late 1600's. The good doctor seems to abhor the vampire's lifestyle to drink human blood so he trained himself to ignore its delicious call and feasted on the blood of animals. The Cullen family grew from there. He first turned Edward Masen who was dying from the Spanish Influenza. Next, he turned his now mate, Esme, when he found her clinging to life after committing suicide due to the death of her only child.

The next person to be changed and added to the rolls of the family was Rosalie Hale, now Cullen, when Carlisle found her left for dead in an alley. The next was Emmett which Rosalie forced Carlisle to turn him when the teen was left for dead after being mauled by a bear.

The last two additions were Alice and Jasper who found the Cullen family and joined them.

As it now stands, they are parading the world as a family; Carlisle and Esme as the parents, adopting Edward, Rosalie and Jasper pretending to be siblings due to their resemblance, Emmett, and Alice.

Spleensmash also noted that he got the information direct one of his contacts that has a connection with the Volturi, a large group of vampires considered to be royalty who provided rules to avoid discovery and keep the evidence of vampire's existence to a bare minimum. If he wanted more information from the leaders of the Volturi then he would need to visit them and ask, though the goblin warned Leo from doing so since he would be surrounded by vampires who would do nothing but love to feast on a wizard's blood since it was a delicacy for them and a rare treat.

Of course it was rare, wizards do have magic to fight back and it's somewhat hard to drink blood from a being that could set you on fire with a wave of a wand.

Putting Spleensmash's letter down, he picked up another which coincidentally came from Liverwhacker. It was his monthly account statement concerning the activities of the Black Family Vault.

After perusing it for a few minutes, he discovered that he was earning extra money with the inclusion of the three businesses in La Push. It was small since he only asked for a measly two percent for the sake of formality but the amount was there.

There was also a document attached to the letter for the goblin to use 1% of the total value in the vault for investment. The goblin listed down shops that are earning quite a dividend in various magical settlements in the US that offers available stocks for investors.

He couldn't help but grin at the similarities between this goblin and his brother. Both had a good mind for business. He immediately signed the document to be sent later.

The third letter was something of a surprise. It was addressed to him and Freya from the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Minerva McGonagall. The letter was two-fold. One was asking on their status since it's been more than 6 years that they've seen each other and asking for Leo's permission to open the _Chamber of Secrets_ since it is a historical part of the school.

After thinking about it for a few minutes, it would be a good idea to open Slytherin's chamber and make it accessible to the students. McGonagall could use it as a classroom or a training hall or something.

However, he needed to spend some time in the school to check that there was nothing in the chamber other than the dead basilisks. It wouldn't do much good to have a student suddenly finding long-lost tomes belonging to the Hogwarts Founder of the Snake House and suddenly using whatever knowledge in it.

Leo shuddered at the possibility of another Voldemort rising up in Wizarding Britain and him getting called back just to take care of it.

Minerva also included a post-script that Kingsley was looking for him and asking for a way to contact the duo. Leo thought hard and finally decided to give the two mobile phones so they could be contacted if there was something happening in Wizarding Britain that demands their attention.

He quickly penned a letter to Liverwhacker to purchase two mobile phones and sent to Spleensmash with instructions to give it Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt.

* * *

**October 5, 2005**

Life in Marauder's Den became a chore come October when Liverwhacker sent the first 300 ward stones to them via owl post.

Leo immediately called Billy to inform the pack that they were going to start on the ward stones for the added protection of La Push. Of course, Billy gave his blessing and promised that they would only be called during extreme circumstances that they're help would were sorely needed.

The Black elder also made an alibi with the teens that Leo and Freya were taking their mastery exams at home so they needed to concentrate and study. They immediately promised to stay away from the Den unless it was important.

Even if they already had the needed runic sets and enchantments for the ward stone, putting them on was definitely a chore. Considering that they have their own specialties, Leo would start carving the rune set into the face of the stones then pass it on to Freya to be enchanted. When they timed their work, they found out that they could do 20 stones a day for 8 hours straight.

It was definitely hard work and they had to put aside their study and research time for this project.

* * *

**October 22, 2005**

After 15 days of work, the duo finally unveiled the completed 300 ward stones for the initial protection of La Push. Of course, they finished the 300 stones in exactly 15 days of non-stop carving and enchanting but they took a day off to rest up since they would have to place them around the boundaries of La Push and link them with the ley lines in the area. Fortunately, both Leo and Freya could perform the linking process since they knew how to do it.

It was around 8 in the evening that the shifter and elders had a meeting in the Attic of the Den regarding the placement of the stones. There was a short debate before they finally decided to start by placing some of the stones by the beach since vampires were known to travel underwater due to their inability to breathe. Also, the beach was quite close to the more populated areas of the Reservation so it was a good idea to start there.

The shifters were given their own assignments and sent off with their own sets of stones to place. Once the placement of the stone was finished, Leo and Freya visited them one-by-one and linked them together.

It was a tired group of magic users and shifters congregating in the Attic to check the large map of La Push and Forks. They could easily see on the map where the stones were placed as they released a steady pulse of a _perimeter charm_ something similar to that of a sonar.

They were shocked, however, when a mental alarm blared in the shifter and the magical's minds as they saw a red pulsing dot appear on the cliffs where the gang usually held their cliff diving sessions. The shifters immediately left to dispatch the vampire while Freya and Leo stayed glued to the map to check their progress.

It was a 20 minutes later that they saw a red dot being followed by three blue ones running to the boundary of La Push until it disappeared from the map. The blue ones were stationary for a few minutes before making its way to the general direction of the Den.

Leo immediately relayed what they saw on the map via their mental connection through the necklace and congratulated the wolves in getting rid of the threat though they heard some grumbling from Jared and Paul when they failed to kill the leech.

The duo just shook their heads and ignored them.

There was a short meeting afterwards to finalize deployment if a threat appears and the alarm was received. It was finally decided that the _Wolf's Den_ would be used as a staging point for deployment. The map would be moved to the infirmary and the wolves would simply _portkey_ there to locate the intruder before heading off. In most cases, the one in charge of watching the map would just direct them to the location of the intruder to finish it off. By general consent, Leo and Freya were designated as the 'watchers'. They were a bit short-handed but that would be remedied when the younger generation shifts for the first time.

* * *

**November 18, 2005**

Leo and Freya were in their make-shift beach resort relaxing when they heard a ring from somewhere under the towels up in the cottage. Leo immediately stood up and retrieved the phone since it was ring tone.

"Leo Black speaking." answered Leo. He didn't recognize the caller ID and there were only a few people he gave his number to, mostly Quilleutes, the Headmistress, and Minister Shacklebolt.

"_Hi, Leo, this is Charlie."_ came the voice of the Chief of Police. Leo immediately placed it on speaker so his sister would be privy to the conversation.

"Hi, Charlie. What can I do for you?" Leo asked politely.

"_Well, I was wondering if Freya is available." _

Freya raised an eyebrow at that. Since Charlie was looking for her, she answered.

"Charlie, this is Freya. What seems to be the problem?"

"_I was wondering if you have time to check up on Bella for me." _

"Check up? Did something happen to her?" asked a worried Freya.

"_Well, no…not really."_ she and Leo could practically hear the hesitation in the Chief of Police's voice_. "It's just that she's been like a zombie for two months now ever since you guys rescued her from the woods. I also got a call from her school that she barely functioned as a student. She doesn't talk or socialize like she used to. It's like she's not there at all."_

"Did you get a doctor to take a look at her?"

"_The School Nurse suggested that I bring her to a psychologist to find out what her problem is. When I relayed that to her, she adamantly refused to go and I wasn't convince her. She hasn't been sleeping and eating well. It's like she has no reason to live."_

"I'm no shrink and I definitely don't have the medical degree to address such a case but what do you want me to do exactly?" she knew that Charlie wasn't asking for medical advice. The Chief of Police was actually hoping that Freya could find something to get his daughter out of her funk.

"_I was wondering if you know a way to deal with what Bella is going through right now. I'm sure that this has something to do with that Cullen kid that left her."_ The last part came out as a growl. From the looks of it, Charlie blamed Edward Cullen for the state of his daughter, and with good reason too.

"Tell you what, Charlie. Why don't we give it a month more?" Freya suggested. "You see, people who are suffering from an emotional problem usually need to just suck it up and move on. I could be there to help her if you wanted me to but I can't help her if she doesn't want to be helped. I suggest that you just be there for her just in case she decides to open up. If she doesn't change by January next year then we can come up with something then."

"_So you mean I just need to be supportive and wait for her to come out of her funk?"_ Charlie asked incredulously.

"Yes. I think you know that people who don't want to be helped can't be helped at all, Charlie." she explained as patiently as she could. "If Bella finds out that you contacted me regarding her problem, she would be prone to rebellion and that would definitely lead to something that we won't surely like. I advise that you just be there for her. I can't help her because she barely knows me. She needs someone that she knows and can trust. Does she have a friend like that?"

"_Well, she does have a group in school and hanged out with especially that time that they had a surfing gig down in First Beach. I think she was particularly close to Angela Weber."_

"That's a start. Slowly push her to go out with her friends. That way, she'll be surrounded by people she trusts. Eventually, one or the other would say something that would get through to her defenses and make her realize that she needs to get a life and there's more to the world than Edward Cullen."

The other line was silent for a few seconds before Charlie spoke again, happier this time.

"_That's a good idea. Thanks a lot, Freya. You've been a big help." _Charlie said in a grateful voice.

"No problem, Charlie. Glad I could help. I just wished I could do more for her but considering that she barely knows me, I don't think we have enough trust with each other to connect. Just push her to go out with friends…like a movie or something. That would get the ball rolling."

"_Great. I'll get right on it. Bye for now, Freya. I think I have some planning to do." _was all Charlie said in a cheerful voice before cutting off the line.

Leo, who was listening to the conversation between the two, finally spoke up.

"That was interesting." said Leo as he buried his toe into the sand. "From the looks of it, Bella is suffering from a withdrawal… more like an Edward Withdrawal."

Freya snickered and gave her a brother a mock-glare for making a joke…a good one this time.

"From the way Charlie described her, you could be right." mused Freya as she floated the phone over to the towel. "Do you think that she is under Edward's Thrall?"

According to a book she read, a vampire had an ability called Thrall. It was an emotional hypnotic ability usually from the vampire's voice. It could easily enthrall anyone if they the victim didn't have a strong control over their emotions. Wizards and witches were immune to a vampire's thrall since their magic would automatically defend them against such an intrusion.

"Hmmm…I don't think so." Leo disagreed with a shake of his head. "People enthralled by a vampire would stick close to them till death. It's something similar to veela's charm. They victim will be so emotionally dependent on the originator of the thrall that they would go to any lengths just to get to them. Bella isn't leaving Forks and is just content on being the epitome of teenage angst. It's all her, sis. No vampire thrall there."

"You do have a point." agreed Freya. "If she was under a thrall then I would have detected it when I hit her with a diagnostic charm. I was very thorough."

"That you are sis, that you are." hummed Leo as he enjoyed the feeling of sand on his toes.

"So what do we do now?" asked Freya as she took of her robe revealing a two-piece red bathing suit and eyeing the waters with interest.

"Nothing. Let Charlie handle it. If something bad happens then we step in. I'm sure Charlie would call Billy, who in turn, would call us. We'll work our way from there."

Freya nodded as she started walking to the water. She paused and looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow.

"Care to join me, brother mine?" she invited her brother.

Leo just gave her a raised eyebrow and stretched on the towel like a cat.

"No thanks, sis. We cats don't like water that much. I'll just stay here and relax thank you very much." purred Leo as he buried deep into the towel and closing his eyes, his face in pure bliss.

"You're a lion, not a cat."

Leo opened one eye and gave her a bored look.

"I rest my case." He deadpanned causing his sister to stick out her tongue at him.

* * *

**End of Chapter 11**


	12. Griever's Mate

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Twilight**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 12: Griever's Mate**

* * *

**January 8, 2006**

**5:30AM**

The news that Leo had been anticipating, and dreading at the same time, came when Billy Black called him up early in the morning. He was enjoying a wonderful dream of him and Embry having fun together in the beach when the ring of his mobile phone broke him out of it.

He groggily answered the phone and was instantly awake when Billy informed him that Embry was showing signs of phasing – growth spurt, fever with temperature almost reaching 100 degrees farenheit, and showing signs of being delirious.

He, however, blushed bright red when BIlly mischievously informed him that Embry was murmuring his name while sleeping under fever. Leo cursed the Black elder for being observant. He was thankful that Freya wasn't around to hear him say that or she would never let him live it down. His sister knew about his attraction with the young Quilleute and would love to use it as a blackmail material if she could help it.

When Leo asked how he knew that Embry was getting ready to phase, Billy informed him that he just received a call from Quil Sr. a few minutes ago informing him about it considering that the old coot knew the signs since he was there when his father suffered before finally phasing for the first time.

Since Embry didn't have any parents and staying with Quil Sr., Billy suggested that Embry be transferred over to the _Wolf's Den_ so he and Freya could keep an eye on him. Besides, the presence of the shifter would also help a lot just in case the teen suddenly phased without warning though he was confident that Freya and Leo could keep the new wolf under control if they really wanted to.

Leo immediately agreed with the idea since he wanted to make sure that the boy was alright. His magic and soul wouldn't demand anything less.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo came out of the Den when he heard Billy's truck coming up the driveway. He came down the stairs as Billy and old man Quil came out of the truck.

"Where is he?" he asked worriedly.

"Back seat." was Billy said before Leo immediately pulled open the door and saw for the first time the state of his…friend.

Embry was moaning in his sleep. From the amount of sweat he was generating, he was suffering from high fever, higher than normal considering his biology. Leo noticed that the boy grew again, this time it was major. Gone was the baby fat on his face and body, replaced by muscles. It wasn't as big as the Sam, Jared, or Paul but he was getting there if he aged a bit. From what he could tell, the boy grew again, roughly around 5'11 or close to 6'.

Not wasting any time, he immediately floated the teen out of the car and cast a _cooling_ _charm_ to regulate his temperature and to help him cope with his fever. After beckoning the elders to follow him, he immediately headed to the Wolf's Den at a brisk walk, Embry floating beside him.

They were met at the entrance to the infirmary by Freya who immediately told them to follow her into a room she prepared for the sick Quilleute. When they saw the room for the first time, Leo noticed that it was heavily enchanted.

As far as he could tell, there was a space-expanding charm to make it a lot bigger; the bed also had a _cooling charm_ on it to neutralize Embry growing temperature. There were other enchantments in place but couldn't put a name on them.

"Place him gently on the bed." commanded Freya as she moved to the other side of the bed, preparing herself to cast _diagnostic charms_ to determine the teen's condition.

Leo nodded and slowly floated the boy on the bed. Freya immediately started releasing spells by the dozens at speeds that he could only dream of. It was a few minutes later that he spoke.

"What's the verdict?" asked Leo worriedly, eyes never leaving Embry's sick form. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He's alright considering his biology. If he was an average human then his temperature alone would have killed him. From the results of my spells, his magical core that we theorized as the source of the Spirit Wolves ability to phase is expanding and sending energy to different parts of his body and initiating the change to accommodate the wolf spirit in him. Actually, that is the reason why his temperature is so high." explained Freya as she started writing on her clipboard to document the change for future reference. "The magic flowing through his body is increasing his temperature and would stay that way afterwards since the magic would be there to stay forever."

"Do we have a fixed time as to when he will phase?" he asked as he lovingly ran a finger down the teen's face. This action didn't escape the elders who were giving him an understanding look.

"If I base it from the reading I got from Sam, Jared, and Paul, and with the speed of the changes his magical core is doing to his body…I would say 5 days, a week at the most."

"Anything we can do to make sure that he doesn't suffer before then?" he demanded in a voice that he seldom used. It was a voice of desperation and Freya's heart ached because of it.

She sadly shook her head causing her brother to frown.

"There's nothing we can do right now. I could barely hit him with a _diagnostic charm_ since his magical core is defending him from any external force. I had to hit him fast and hard just to get a reading."

Leo nodded and immediately conjured a chair beside the bed and sat down. He took Embry's hand in his own without his eyes leaving the teen's face.

Freya gave his brother an understanding look though there was a tinge of sadness on her face. She knew what her brother was going through. It was the feeling of helplessness that she felt when she found out that her parents died despite how hard she tried to shield them from the war. She knew that her brother knew that Embry wouldn't die from it but seeing someone you care about suffering wasn't something a person should be subjected to…especially someone who had a fragile heart like her brother.

* * *

**January 10, 2006**

"You need to eat, Leo." Freya pleaded in an exasperated voice.

It's been two days since Embry was confined in the 'emergency' wing of the _Wolf's Den_ and Leo didn't leave the teen's side. He slept there in the chair beside the teen and continued to hold his hand when awake. Sometimes, Freya would see her brother caressing Embry's face and hair like a lover though she didn't know if Leo's attraction to Embry evolved into love.

Despite her brother's rather secretive nature due to his stint with the Dursleys, he never wavered from attending the sick teen even when the shifters and the elders came to visit. None spoke against the loving gaze the wizard was giving the boy. In fact, they seemed to be both sad and amused at the same time.

Leo, on the other hand, was slowly changing his view of the prone Embry in front of him. It first started out with an unexplained attraction and he fought valiantly to keep it there and not evolve into something that requires physical attention due to the teen being underage. He didn't want to scar the boy and he didn't know the boy's orientation.

However, seeing the object of his attraction sleeping on the bed like a corpse intensified his simple attraction to love. He didn't realize it yet but his magic and soul was slowly reaching out to the boy through their hands. He didn't know it yet but they were slowly being tied together by fate.

"I'm not hungry." was all Leo said in response to his sister's plea.

Freya just stared at him before bringing out the big guns.

"Embry wouldn't want you to suffer on his behalf." accused Freya. Sure, it was hitting below the belt but she needed to make her brother see reason.

Leo turned and gave her a glare that caused her to step back. Freya didn't see her brother behind those emerald orbs. It was the glare of a Nemean Lion coming out to the forefront of Leo's mind to protect his mate. It seems that Griever also knew the significance of the teen that his human half cared for. She backpedalled and became the voice of reason.

"Look, Leo. Imagine how Embry would feel if he wakes up and see you not eating for days. I'm sure he would be worried about you. If you really want to help him when he wakes up then you need to make sure that you're in good health to do so."

Leo's glare intensified for a moment before dying down. He nodded tersely but didn't say anything and simply turned back to Embry's face, continuing his sad vigil.

Freya sighed and left the emergency room and _apparated_ back to the Den. Fortunately, Sue sent food over since Leo was…occupied in caring for Embry. Since he agreed to eat then she might as well bring it to him.

* * *

**January 11, 2006**

Freya was confused. She really was. No matter how much she tried to rationalize it in her mind, it still left her confused. It was the fourth day of Embry's stay in the emergency wing in the _Wolf's Den_ that she discovered it.

As usual, she made her way beside the prone form of the teen that held her brother's affection and started casting her repertoire of diagnostic spells to determine the changes in the soon-to-be shifter's body.

As expected, Embry grew to an astounding height of 6'4. It was by no means comparable to Sam's 6'7, Jared and Paul's 6'6 but it was amazing all the same. The teen bulked up a bit, muscles improving that made Embry look like a professional swimmer or a runner.

No, this wasn't what confused her.

As an afterthought, she sent a _diagnostic charm_ on her brother's sleeping form since he wasn't eating and sleeping well for days now. What she discovered was the source of her confusion.

Leo grew in height, putting him on par with Sam's 6'7. This was shocking considering that her brother was only at 6'3 and should have stopped there since he already reached the peak of his physical growth.

She also noticed the increase in muscle mass as well, which was pretty obvious considering that Leo's muscle shirt was straining from the size of his body. Another source of her confusion was the string of magic that connected both of them.

Seeing that, she immediately ran a scan and discovered that it was making its way to Embry's core. From the looks of it, Leo's magic was patiently waiting for the Embry's core to accept it. She had a theory that Leo's magic was waiting for Embry to wake up and initiate the bond…the imprinting bond but she couldn't be sure.

She sighed and left the room. She _apparated_ to the Attic's library with a small crack, hoping that one of the books there would shed some light to the situation and get rid of her confusion.

* * *

**January 12, 2006**

Embry's room in the _Wolf's Den_ was a bit crowded since everyone in the know was there waiting for the possibility of the teen shifting to his wolf for the first time.

As usual, Leo was sitting beside Embry's sleeping form, a bit happy that the teen's temperature seemed to have stopped fluctuating; which according to Freya, was a good sign that the phase would begin soon. The shifters were leaning on the wall while taking to Billy, Harry, and Quil Sr., coming up with a plan on how to break everything to the new shifter…hoping to somewhat lessen the blow to avoid a possible freak out.

It was supposed to be routine but it never was if the residents of Marauder's Den were concerned.

It was around midday that Embry woke up from his sleep, alerting everyone with his groan. Immediately the shifters crowded around the teen and started talking at the same time. It would have gone well but the teen freaked out since he was in a new place surrounded by people.

For a normal person, it would have been a happy occasion.

For a high-strung soon-to-be-shifter who just woken up from a bout of deadly fever, it was expected that the teen would freak out.

Freya would have been able to calm things down but she didn't make it when the large form of Griever immediately appeared beside Embry's bed and released a loud roar that shook the entire infirmary to its foundation. Without another word, Griever jumped over the startled Embry and tackled the three shifters through the wall which broke easily and threw all four of them outside. The power of that tackle easily broke through Freya's protective enchantments on the walls.

Thankfully, Sam had the right idea to bark an order for the shifters to go into wolf form to subdue the rampaging mythical lion.

Of course, despite being the right idea at that time, it was wrong since lions are instinctively and naturally the opposite of wolves.

To put it simply, everything blew up.

Griever saw the wolves appear before him and immediately went into attack mode. The only thing in its mind was the protection of his mate which was behind him stuck on the bed.

The Spirit Wolves saw the approaching form of a very large, angry lion barreling down on them so they immediately started their pattern to take it down.

Freya was staring wide-eyed at Griever. It seems that his brother's animagus form also had a major upgrade.

Instead of its usual 6-foot height, it now stood over Sam's wolf form at 6'5. Its body was no longer sleek, but very muscular. The golden fur was now tinged with gray though Freya was sure that they were still as hard as diamond, and if possible harder than diamonds.

She couldn't take her eyes off the battle in front of her. No matter how much she tried to take her eyes away and stop her rampaging brother's animagus form, she couldn't move.

The logical part of her mind told her to stay put and protect the elders since they were vulnerable without the magic of the spirit wolves in their bodies. The illogical part of her wanted to join the battle with spells and curses flying.

Thankfully, her logical mind won and stayed her ground before casting protecting enchantments over the infirmary just in case Griever changed targets.

It was already 10 minutes and the battle was still raging on. No matter what the wolves did, Griever easily countered them…strength for strength, speed for speed. Even the teamwork that the wolves possessed was no match for the lion's superior speed.

Her breath hitched when she saw Sam being barreled over by Griever's mad charge. The black wolf was pinned to the ground by the large lion and was about to get its head bitten off when a powerful howl echoed across the grounds.

A howl that came from behind her.

A gray blur ran past her and tackled the large lion off the black wolf with a resounding crash and threw Griever a few meters away to crash on the ground with a large boom.

There in front of the Sam's stunned form was a large gray wolf with black spots littering its fur. It wasn't any taller or larger than the rest of the shifters but it was powerful enough to send the rampaging lion off its prey and threw it away.

Griever immediately stood from the small crater where it crashed and shook the daze caused by the impact before releasing another powerful anger-filled roar that caused the ground to tremble. Griever turned his head to face his new enemy.

However, when his rage-filled emerald orbs connected with the chocolate-brown eyes of the gray wolf, he stopped.

The gray wolf also relaxed when its eyes connected with that of the large lion's emerald orbs. Everything was silent as the gray wolf's attention was centered on the mythical beast in front of it.

Everyone was watching the standoff with trepidation, not knowing what to do.

However, it all came to naught when the standoff ended.

The large lion slowly walked towards the gray wolf that did the same.

Everyone's breath hitched and wanted to do something but they were frozen as if something invisible was holding them in place. The two beasts stopped two feet from each other and looked at each other in the eye, the lion looking down while the gray wolf looked up.

Suddenly, a small whine came from the gray wolf which caused the lion to move down its head and caressed the wolf's face with its own. Another whine escaped the wolf's muzzle causing the lion to release a large rumble from the back of its throat before licking the wolf's face with its long tongue.

The fascinating sight continued as the lion was slowly giving the small wolf a bath with its tongue, everyone staring at the scene with shock, awe, and slight fear.

However, the silence was broken by Freya.

"Damn. This might complicate things."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What in the world happened back there?" came Billy Black's shrill voice as Freya was busy tending to the injured shifters on the bed she conjured for them in the emergency wing of the _Wolf's Den_.

While the humungous lion and the gray wolf were busy pampering each other, Freya immediately levitated the stunned wolves out of harm's way and deposited them inside the safety of the infirmary. She commanded them to change back to their human forms before treating them. It took five minutes of spells and potions to put them to rights but it was obvious that they would be out of commission for a few days as their rapid healing did its work on their bodies.

Jared and Paul were suffering from broken ribs and concussion. However, Sam took the brunt of the action as he was bandaged up from head to toe.

Sam's injuries were numerous – broken bones, broken ribs, concussion, a hairline fracture on his pelvis, and a lot of bruises. When Freya was done with him, he looked like a mummy on steroids. If it wasn't for the severity of the situation, everyone would have laughed at the comical sight.

"What happened back there was Griever, or Leo, finding his mate." Freya answered as he finished tending to the last of Sam's broken bones. She put them to rights but she let the rapid healing take the brunt of the damage.

"Yes, it is quite obvious that Leo found his mate. But what caused him to attack us?" came Paul's question from one of the beds. A groan followed as he aggravated one of his injuries.

"From what I can tell, it seems that Leo's protective instincts came out when he saw that you three were distressing Embry. Of course, being already tensed as he already was because of Embry, Leo's mind shut down and Griever took over. That is the reason why you were tackled, mauled, and practically kicked in the ass by a very large, irate mythical lion."

"So you're telling us that Leo's animal side is controlling him?" asked Harry incredulously while giving the two large creatures playing around on the ground a wary look.

"Not really." started Freya. "You need to understand that the shifter's mentality is different to a wizard's animagus form. In the shifter's mind, the human side is in control. However, for a wizard in their animagus form, the animal's mind is more dominant with the human guiding its instinct and mental patterns. What happened in this case is Leo and Griever's mental states to coincide, giving them a single purpose and that is the protection of its mate."

"Okay, next question. What in happened to Leo?" asked Jared before wincing as he aggravated his healing rib. "Just look at him. He's bigger now. More powerful from the feel of bruises, and more…I don't know…scary?"

Freya nodded at the assessment and launched into her theory.

"Ever since Leo met Embry, he formed a slight attraction with the teen. Leo told me that his magic was pushing him towards the boy but he was controlling himself for obvious reasons. However, on the fourth day of Embry's fever, I discovered that both of them changed physically and magically. I can't explain why but as Embry grew to accommodate his potential shift into his wolf form, Leo grew as well. Leo was 6'3 and is already in his peak physical growth. When I checked, he grew to 6'7 and stopped when Embry's growth stopped at 6'4. I was also able to determine a magical bond stretching from Leo's magical core to Embry's but it stopped as if waiting for something. I guess that it was waiting for Embry to imprint on him before the bonding takes place."

She then looked at the two creatures that were clearly in love with each other.

"As you can see; Leo, or in this case, Griever is mated and soul-bonded to Embry and said teen imprinting on the other."

"Are we just going to leave them like that? They might be focused on each other but what if someone comes to the Den?" asked a worried Sue.

Freya gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry, Sue. I activated one of the enchantments I placed on the house. It's like a general ward that if anyone comes near the boundary of the Den, they will find themselves remembering something they need to do and leave. I made this enchantment to target humans, wizards, witches, and magical creatures. Only those inside the enchantment are protected from its effects. "

Sue nodded in relief.

"What are we going to do with those two?" asked Quil Sr. who was peeking out of the ruined wall and observed the two who were playing a complicated game of chase-nip-lick-and-romp.

"We can't do anything with their animal sides in control. Once their emotions settles down then they would be able to take control back from their animal and change back." answered Freya as she stared at her brother and his mate playing around with amusement in her eyes.

"You mean there's nothing you can do to help them change back?" asked Billy.

"None. If you don't believe me, observe."

She walked towards the hole in the wall and transfigured a rock beside the two into a 7-foot black bear. It didn't even last 5 seconds when the lion and the wolf tore it to shreds. Freya reversed the transfiguration and turned around to see six people staring at the carnage in shock.

"As you can see, anyone or anything that they view as a threat approaches them is going to wish they've never been born." Freya said cheerfuly to the six stunned Quilleutes. "Don't you just wish a group of vampires would come and attack us right now?"

The six just gave her a look that spoke volumes of her sanity.

* * *

**End of Chapter 12**


	13. New Addition to the Pack

**Thanks to FantasyLover74 for being my partner in this story. Kudos, my dear.  
**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Twilight.**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 13: New Addition to the Pack**

* * *

Everyone in the infirmary was able to calm down when Griever and wolf-Embry settled down for an afternoon nap. Since Freya didn't know how long they would be stuck in their animal forms, they decided to form a few contingency plans to avoid people from getting suspicious.

First, they needed to address the teens. Jacob and Quil were already told by Billy that Embry was suffering from something that could be related to 'Mono' due to the symptoms of being bed-ridden and high fever. The elders would just inform the teens that Embry was to be confined in the Den until further notice.

If they ask why, they would simply say that it's viral and anyone could catch it except for Leo and Freya who already had the shots for it.

Another problem that was voiced out was how they were going to exit the Den since the grounds were practically off limits thanks to a very large lion that is very protective of its very large wolf mate.

It was Freya who suggested that they were going to be given a _portkey_ that would transport them directly in the infirmary but modified so they could _portkey_ out of the property, specifically behind Quil Sr.'s house since it was away from the eyes of the locals. She also modified the shifter's portkey destination so they could enter and exit the property for the time being while the grounds are inaccessible.

The shifters had no problem with it since their rings were already _portkeys_. The elders had nothing so Freya gave each of them a ring that was supposed to be for the new shifters. A side-effect to this was an added protection to the elders. If there was an emergency they could easily call for help.

When they hammered out the details, the shifter and the elders left leaving Freya alone to deal with two mythical creatures in her backyard, literally.

* * *

**January 14, 2006**

**1:40PM  
**

Freya literally stayed in the infirmary and turning it into her temporary bedroom after the incident that she ruefully named "The Clash of the Titans" since it wasn't everyday that you see a Nemean Lion fighting three large wolves with fangs that could literally rip you in half.

She enjoyed her observation of the two as she stood watch so she would be there to run a check on them when they shift back to human form. Freya could see the love between the two as they played, cuddled, and even slept in the grounds of Marauder's Den. If she was honest, she survived the ordeal mainly thanks to Sue's constant delivery of food and the shifter's companionship. She could easily _apparate_ off the property but she didn't want to leave the two alone in case something comes up that needs her intervention.

It was two days later that Freya finally had a moment of peace when Griever and wolf-Embry returned to their human forms. It was a beautiful sight for her – Embry sleeping on the ground with Leo hugging him protectively.

Stamping down on the girlish squeal that was about to escape her lips, she approached the sleeping lovers and immediately check if they were alright. After a few overpowered charms since the two's defense against magic increased after the change, she was able to determine that they were magically and physically drained but no other problems could be found.

Sighing in relief, she immediately levitated the two and floated them over to the infirmary in a single bed. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't make Leo let go of his hold over his mate. After getting them comfortable, she repaired the hole that the incident caused and slumped down on an empty bed, relaxing for the first time in a week.

She pulled out her phone and sent a text message to everyone that the duo was back to human form and sleeping though she told them to visit tomorrow since she wanted the two to have an uninterrupted rest considering what they've been through.

* * *

**January 15, 2006**

**7:30AM**

Freya walked into the waking form of his brother in the infirmary. She was making her way to the main room of the _Wolf's Den_ to fix herself a cup of tea when the _alarm spell_ that she tied to Leo's consciousness started blaring in her mind. Happy that her brother was finally up, she immediately went back to the emergency room, tea forgotten.

"Good morning, brother." she cheerfully greeted her brother who wasn't removing his iron hug from Embry's sleeping form. Instead of being woken up by the tight grip, it seems that the new shifter loved the sensation since he just snuggled deeper into Leo's arms.

"Good morning, sis." He yawed before looking down at the person he was hugging. A smile made his way to his lips when he saw Embry sleeping peacefully in his arms. He gave the teen a peck on the forehead before turning to his sister. "How long was I out?"

One of Freya's eyebrow rose in question.

"You need to be specific, brother mine. The time that Griever took over and practically clobbered the entire La Push pack or the time that you shifted back to your human form?"

"Both." he murmured absently as he sniffed at Embry's dark hair and pulled him closer to his body. He was rewarded by a sigh of contentment from his mate.

"Well, it's already half past 7 in the morning of the 15th. You practically went roughshod with the shifters on the afternoon of 12th. Both of you changed back into your human form yesterday just a little after lunch. So if you ask, you've been sleeping for 18 hours or so."

"Wow. That long huh?" whispered Leo while shifting his weight on the bed causing Embry to groan before waking up. Leo saw that his mate's eyes were fluttering open. "Good morning, Em."

"Morning, Leo." greeted Embry with a smile to his imprint. "I guess we're finally back to human form huh?"

"Seems like it or we won't be fitting in this small bed now, would we?" Leo said with a smirk. Embry grinned at him.

"I think I deserve an explanation here." demanded Freya with one of her eyebrows twitching. "From the way you two are talking and cuddling like love-struck morons, you know what happened the whole time?"

Both Leo and Embry nodded their heads. Leo shifted his position until he was sitting up before pulling on Embry until he was nestled on his lap. Seeing that his mate was comfortable, he turned to Freya who's eyebrow was twitching madly now. Not wanting to aggravate her further, he started to explain.

"It was weird really. When I saw how Em was freaking out, I lost control and Griever took over. I saw everything that happened but Griever's instinct was too strong. It wanted to protect its mate from the wolf pack considering what they were doing to him at that time."

"So in other words, you were tagging along Griever then?" asked Freya as she conjured a seat to make herself comfortable.

"Right in one, sis." Leo said with a nod. "It seems that my wanting to protect Em from getting freaked out by the shifters brought out Griever's instinct to protect its mate. This gave Griever more power than mine temporarily. My animal form was purely acting on instinct. Anyway, I watched the whole thing…ummm…how are they by the way?"

"Sam got the worst of Griever's tantrum but he's okay now. He just fully healed yesterday. I better warn you. Stay away from Emily for a few days. She was somewhat pissed to find Sam coming home covered in bandages."

Leo winced. He knew that it wasn't his fault that the La Push wolves were injured but couldn't help feel a bit guilty from the whole situation. Embry felt this so he immediately kissed his imprint on the cheeks to help him relax. It worked.

"Thanks, Em." said Leo while giving him mate a loving smile before turning back to his sister to continue his explanation. "Anyway, everything changed when Griever laid eyes on Embry for the first time. It was like a double imprint and a double soul-bond. I bonded with Em while he imprinted on me. Our animal forms formed a bond as well. Griever and Embry's wolf took to each other as mates."

Leo stopped his explanation and conjured a glass of water since his throat was a bit parched. He looked down at Embry, quirking an eyebrow, offering to do the same for him but the shifter just shook his head and cuddled closer to him. Once his throat was moistened up a bit, he continued.

"The weird thing was…while our animal was in full control; Em and I were able to hold a conversation telepathically since the Griever and wolf-Embry's mind were linked. We might want to look into that a bit. Embry and I are mentally connected in our animal forms, same way as Sam and the rest of the shifters. Anyway, so for the two days that our animals were having fun, I told Em everything he needed to know about us and the Quilleute legends. I didn't want to keep any secrets from my life-mate and the Soul Bond demanded no less.

This brought Freya up short.

"So does this mean…."

Embry chose to speak up.

"Yes, Hermione, I know everything about you and Harry. But I promise that I'll keep both of your secrets. My love for him demands nothing less. For me, you have always been Freya Black and this loving monster holding me is Leo Black." said Embry with a shy smile on his face.

Freya nodded before giving the two boys in front of her a smile.

"I guess that takes care of everything then. I suggest you two head up to the Den and freshen up." she suggested to the clearly love-struck couple. "Leo, I suggest that you conjure some clothes before you can go shopping. You didn't know it but your body had an upgrade; Griever too, if you're curious."

"Upgrade?" asked Leo curiously, unconsciously tilting his head to the side. Embry showed his own confusion by mimicking his imprint's action. Freya was tightening her _Occlumency_ shields to avoid screaming like a fan-girl at the sight of the cute scene.

"Later. Freshen up so I can call the elders and the shifters. We are going to have a meeting since they needed to know everything that happened."

Leo nodded and tightened his hold over his mate and kissed him deeply on the lips causing Embry to groan before disappearing from the infirmary with a loud crack. They didn't see Freya casting a _stinging hex_ at them which, fortunately for the lovers, missed them by a second and hit the bed causing it to combust because it was overpowered thanks to her irritation.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo appeared in his bedroom on the third floor of Marauder's Den with Embry in his arms.

"You alright?" he asked his mate with a worried look on his face when he saw Embry shake his head from the trip, trying to get rid of the dizzying feeling caused by _apparition_.

"Yeah, I'm alright." answered Embry while trying to get his stomach under control. "That was the first time I experience your method of travel and it was…ummm…"

Leo saw that his mate was trying to find the right word to describe the feeling of _apparition_ so he offered the same answer that Sam did when he _apparated_ the alpha shifter for the first time.

"Weird?" he supplied in an amused voice. Embry smirked and nodded.

Both were quiet as they held on to each other, enjoying each other's warmth. It was five minutes later when Embry broke the peaceful silence in the room.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Embry asked worriedly as he looked up to Leo's eyes.

"Okay with what?" Leo asked, looking down at his mate in confusion.

"I mean my imprinting on you." replied Embry. Worry was quite evident in his voice. "I mean, I took away the choice from you and I don't want you to feel that you're obligated to return my affection."

Despite their conversation while their animal forms were in control, Embry was worried about his imprint reaction to the sudden bond that formed between them. He knew, from Leo's description, that this was a deep commitment, though he didn't mind it himself since he had always had a small bit of affection towards the wizard ever since he laid his eyes on him which steadily grew as he got to know him better.

He wasn't into guys at that time, he had a high school crush on one of the girls in the cheerleading squad for God's sake, but he couldn't deny that it was the first time that he a guy attractive.

Leo dragged his worried mate to the bed and pushed him down to sit before taking a seat beside the teen. His arm snaked around Embry and pulled him closer, causing the teen to place his head o his now-broad shoulders.

"I want you to stop thinking like that right now." Leo said in a stern, yet loving voice. "Ever since I saw you for the first time when Billy and the elders brought you and the others here in the Den, I was attracted towards you. Sure, I was fighting tooth and nail to keep it like that considering that you're underage and all; but I could never deny the fact that I found you cute, sexy, and loveable. I finally realized that I loved you when I saw you lying on the infirmary bed, very sick, and I couldn't do anything to help you. With all my magical knowledge and power, I couldn't do a thing to help."

Embry didn't say anything but simply stood from his seat and launched himself towards Leo and clamped his lips down on him, hard. The impact forced Leo on his back and was shocked at the forwardness of the teen.

Instead of pushing the Embry away, which was the last thing on his mind, Leo kissed back with as much gusto. He licked Embry's lips tenderly causing the teen to open his mouth a bit and released a groan. Seeing the opportunity, he immediately launched his tongue into it and started a tongue war, fighting for dominance. Embry simply surrendered to his tongue's ministration and greedily accepted being dominated by the wizard. The tango of tongues continued until such time that they had to pull apart for air.

Both of them were panting at the intensity of the situation and Leo couldn't ignore the tightening of his pants. From what he was feeling, his mate was also suffering from the same problem. Thankfully, his sister saw to it that Embry was dressed down there to avoid embarrassment, though he couldn't help but give a mental grin at the size he was feeling from his mate. It was something to look forward to in the future when Embry reaches adulthood.

"Well, that was something. I guess you don't want me to think like that too." declared Leo with a cheeky grin on his face before turning serious. "I think we should stop right now, Em. I want to take this relationship slow and get to know each other better."

This declaration caused Embry to whine in disappointment. Leo couldn't help but inwardly smirk at the hormone-driven teen…ah, to be young again. Thanks to his _Occlumency_ shield, he was able to refrain himself from ravaging the sexy shifter on top of him.

"Come on, Em. I don't want to make things hard for you. You're still 15, too young to be in a serious relationship. Sure, we know the bond we have for each other but if we act like that in public then we're going to be in serious trouble. Trust me, we will move past this stage once you get to the right age alright?" explained Leo with a soft smile.

Embry reluctantly nodded before pushing himself off from Leo until he was straddling him. Leo couldn't help but groan when he felt the shifter's bum putting a comfortable weight on his _little wizard_. He immediately clamped down the urge to get physical with his mate and leveled the grinning Embry a mock glare. _"The cheeky minx. He did that on purpose."_

"Anyway, why don't you take a bath first, I'll lend you some of my old clothes since you're the same build as I was before I got this…upgrade." suggested Leo.

"And it is a very nice upgrade too." quipped Embry though Leo could see that the teen was fighting an expectant grin if the twitching was to be noted.

"Yeah,yeah, you cheeky minx." said Leo in a playful voice. He couldn't help but groan when Embry started to move his bum around, much to his consternation. Griever was mentally cheering in his mind that his wizard was about to get some action. He immediately blocked the link he had with the animal before the lion's need to mate overpowers him, the horny bugger. "Stop that, Em. Go take a shower now, yeah?"

Embry sighed and got off Leo before removing himself from the bed. He looked around in confusion. This was his first time seeing his imprint's room. They had access to the whole house except for the attic and the master suite. He couldn't deny the fact that it was big and rich.

Leo the shifter's awed looks while checking out his room.

"The shower is through that door." he said while pointing to the door beside his wardrobe. "There are towels in the cabinet underneath the sink. Help yourself to my toiletries. I'll find some clothes for you to wear alright.

Embry nodded and gave him a peck on the lips before strutting over to the bathroom, clearly trying to tempt the lion animagus into something premature. Leo wouldn't have any of that so he hit his mate's bum with an underpowered _stinging_ _hex_ causing the shifter to yelp in surprise before leveling him a glare.

Leo just gave the shifter a mischievous grin before standing up on the bed and walked over to his mate. He kissed him tenderly on the lips causing the hormone-driven Embry to groan before pushing him inside the bathroom and shutting the door. He couldn't help but hear the grumbling from the shifter on the other side of the door.

* * *

Leo was penning a few letters to be sent via Fawkes later when Embry finished his stint in the shower. He couldn't help but drool seeing his mate walk back into the room with only a towel covering his modesty. The teen was ripped thanks to his growth spurt and upgrade due to his shifter gene. Standing at 6'4, Embry was muscular though the built was similar to his own before he had his own set of improvements.

While Embry was taking a shower, Leo took time to see the changes on his body. Banishing his very tight clothes and clad only in his boxers, he saw first-hand what the bond did to him.

First, his 6'3 height was non-existent and now as tall as Sam at 6'7. His body was no longer built for a runner or a swimmer, he compared it to someone who spent quite a lot of time in the gym...he definitely changed from speed to strength that's for sure. He was no Arnold Schwarzenegger but he likened his new build to a bit bigger than Ryan Reynolds if he wanted to be accurate about it.

While he was checking out the physical changes, he was busy running his magic over his body to see what was happening on the inside. He noticed that his strength was augmented by the change considering the amount of magic was being unconsciously channeled to his muscles. His bones seemed to also have an upgrade to accommodate his new weight.

All-in-all, he definitely liked what he saw.

The only problem, however, was the lack of clothing that would fit his new build. He decided that he would be giving Embry his clothes or bequeath some to the shifters if they wanted and buy new ones for himself. He already made a mental schedule to visit the clothing shop in Merlin's Street for it later after the meeting since there's plenty of time to do so.

When Embry came out of the shower, Leo was clad only in his boxers and wizarding robe displaying his physique to the shifter. It would be safe to say that Embry was trying his best to control his hormone and the by-play of emotions on the shifter's face wasn't missed by the lion animagus.

Leo already prepared a set of clothes for the shifter to wear – black muscle shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers – and told him to change while he takes a shower and headed to the bathroom but not before a few minutes of intense kissing when the hormonal teen jumped him. Thankfully, he was able to control himself and pushed the shifter off him causing a lot of pouting from said teen.

* * *

It was an hour later that the Den hosted a major meeting to all in the know. Since Leo already explained to his mate the facts about the Quilleute Legends and a bit of core knowledge on the Magical World, the meeting degenerated into inducting Embry as the newest member of the wolf pack and explaining to everyone Freya and Leo's theories regarding the situation.

During the meeting, Leo couldn't help but feel amused when the shifters were directing him looks of awe and wariness, though Sam was shooting him a glare when Embry unconsciously snuggled to his side. It seemed that no matter how much Sam wanted to deny Embry's existence as his brother, there was still a side of him that wanted to protect the teen from the big bad lion, half-brother or not.

Thankfully, Embry didn't know about his heritage as of yet though the elder promised to Freya while the lovers were unconscious that they would come up with a way to break it to the teen that wouldn't freak him out.

Also, Leo assured everyone, much to the disagreement of Embry, that he wasn't interested in putting the teen on the limelight by broadcasting the relationship to the public. He also promised the shifters and the elders, though it was more to Sam than everyone else, that they would take it slow since Embry was still underage. Things would move on once the new shifter reaches the age of 18.

After the meeting, they spent an hour studying the new dynamic of the pack with Freya taking down copious notes for future reference and relaying the mental conversation to the elders.

When Leo, Sam, Jared, Paul, and Embry shifted to their animal forms, they discovered that there was a mental connection between the imprinted-soul-bonded couple that existed outside the pack's mental connection. Sure, Sam was Embry's alpha following the Quilleute Legends' tradition but it seemed that Embry would defer to his mate's orders if the situation demands it. Sam was a bit miffed about that but wouldn't want to mess with a very large lion staring daggers at him.

They also noticed that despite Embry's small frame, since he was built for speed than strength, he could call upon Griever's magic while in wolf form to augment his own. This was quite evident when he threw Jared and Paul off him in a burst of strength when they dog-piled, or in this case wolf-piled, him. This made Embry a great addition to the team. If Griever was in play, wolf-Embry could easily tap into his magic to switch from a speed fighter to a powerhouse.

An hour later, the veteran shifters took Embry with them deep into the woods to teach the new addition about pack teamwork and responsibility since the former was not taught to him by Leo during their talk while their animal was in control.

Before they left, however, Leo couldn't help but stalked up to the alpha of the pack and warned him in a no-nonsense voice to keep his mate safe or else. Sam nodded vigorously, though it looked comical since he was in wolf form, since the lion's face was inches from him with all his sharp teeth showing and a growl that made his wolf whimper.

It was obvious to everyone that even if Sam was the alpha wolf, Griever was an apex predator if the situation demands it, especially if it concerned the safety and well-being of his mate.

When the wolves left, Freya called the elders back to the Den to hammer out Embry's new duties to the pack and come up with an alibi to keep the rest of the kids out of the loop, especially to Jacob and Quil who were Embry's best friends and confidants. Leo apparated out of the Den to Merlin's Street for new clothes since the ones he was wearing was transfigured from his old ones.

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**End of Chapter 13**

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	14. Slytherin's Secret

**Special mention to FantasyLover74 for being my sounding board to bounce ideas on. **

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 14: Slytherin's Secret  
**

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**January 16, 2006 **

**1:35PM**

Leo gracefully stepped out of the Apparition Point in Diagon Alley as he _apparated_ in with an almost non-existent crack and making his way to Gringotts pointedly ignoring the people staring and pointing at him in awe. He was somewhat set on a higher pedestal after the news of his Mastery in Alchemy, as well as other fields in magical studies.

From the looks of it, his years of absence from Wizarding Britain placed him on an ever higher scrutiny from the public much to his chagrin.

After leaving Freya to man the forth in La Push and promising a pouting Embry that he would be returning soon and shared a tender kiss with the teen much to the hidden delight of his sister, he immediately created a _portkey_ that would take him to the clearing where he created his first-ever Philosopher's Stone before making his way to Diagon Alley.

He entered Gringotts and gave the goblin guard a smile and a nod of respect which was returned by a deep, respectful bow. He made his way to the teller and asked to be escorted to the office of Spleensmash if he was available. Considering that the teller was new in his position and standing in the presence of the only wizard that the High King of their race held in great respect, he was stammering in his answer before leading the amused wizard to the only goblin account manager in all of Wizarding Britain.

After exchanging a few pleasant greetings and some drinks, they immediately went down to business.

Spleensmash gave Leo a letter from Andromeda Tonk that came in yesterday. Leo immediately took the letter and read its content. It was a request to set up an appointment for a meeting to discuss her living conditions and the possibility of his involvement in racing his godson, Teddy Lupin. Leo immediately berated himself for forgetting his promise to his Remus and Tonk before immediately sending a letter in reply for a meeting before he leaves Britain to La Push.

The goblin promised to send it via Gringotts owl after their discussion.

Once that was done, the next order of business was the Potter Trust. Leo mentally winced since this was one of the reasons why he contracted the goblin in the first place but he couldn't deny the fact that it was required by his account manager to give him relevant news concerning his family's inheritance. The lion animagus was quite happy that the investments he and the goblin approved of was doing splendidly and they were reaping dividends by the bucket load. In the past six years, the Potter Trust's monetary assets increased by 30% which also resulted in the goblin getting a chunk out of the whole deal which made both parties happy. The goblin mentioned in passing that his salary and the earnings he was getting from the investments made him one of the richest goblins in Gringotts.

Spleensmash also informed him that he took the liberty to dabble in investing using the Hogwarts Fund since using it steadily without income pouring in would deplete the vault quickly considering the number of scholarships the school was freely giving to muggleborns and poor wizarding families who can't afford the fees and expenses incurred for magical education. Leo immediately commended the goblin for such an action made sure to compensate him for his action by granting him 5% of the total income. The goblin was stammering his thanks since he was given another of increasing his wealth thanks to the amazing wizard in front of him.

Speaking of investments, Spleensmash informed Leo that he specifically targeted businesses that caters to Hogwarts' students, ensuring that the there would be a steady supply of money coming in to replenish the expenses incurred as the students were coming in droves when the news broke out that the _Second Wizarding War_ ended. From the statements concerning the Hogwarts Fund, the school was seeing an increase in students coming in every year, not only from England but also outside the British Isles.

The rest of the meeting was discussing potential investments that the goblin want to dabble in with Leo perusing them since he acquired a bit of knowledge and experience in business thanks to his stint in La Push. His foray in the business world was a success and wanted to expand his horizons since he would be living for a very long time. After all, learning magic and not practical worldly knowledge was a very bad idea, especially for a Battle Scholar like him. Knowledge was knowledge after all and he didn't discriminate like his sister.

It was an hour later that Leo exited Gringotts before making his way to the Ministry of Magic to have a meeting with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Making his way to Kingsley's office was a chore since he was mobbed by the people who were in the Ministry at that time. The Aurors were of no help at all since the numbers were too much for them to handle.

Since he didn't have any options left, Leo immediately let go of his control over his magic and released all of it causing a large aura to encompass his form. It was the first time since his apprenticeship with the Flamels that he released his strict control over his magical core and considering that it had grown since then plus the bonding with his mate, the result was quite destructive.

Leo's intense magical aura threw the mob away from him with such force that some of them were unconscious from the crash and kept it up and running making sure that none could approach him within a 10 meters radius. This caused the mob to back away from him while a few were violently thrown away as they tried to approach him by force.

Leo made his way to the Minister's office with a contingent of Aurors following the famed Battle Scholar in awe.

The discussion with the Minister was direct to the point. Since they were both veterans of the _Second Wizarding War_, more so with Leo, there was camaraderie between the two of them that allowed a conversation without any secrets; though the La Push resident made sure to avoid certain topics that the Minister need not know.

For starters, Leo told him of his new life in La Push and how he was enjoying his time there with the locals, to the point of treating them as families rather than friends. Kingsley was overjoyed that Leo finally found happiness in his life that doesn't revolve around magic. The Minister didn't know that Leo was surrounded by magic still but of a different kind.

He did, however, informed Kingsley that there was a growth of vampire activity in Washington much to the Minister's worry but he couldn't do anything about it for two reasons.

One, it was up to the American Ministry of Magic to take care of it since Washington State was under their jurisdiction.

Two, the only way to control the vampire was to relay the message directly to the Volturi since anything concerning vampires was their responsibility. Leo got the location of the Volturi from a worried Kingsley but he promised that he won't be going there without taking precautions.

Besides, the number of vampires in his part of the world wasn't alarming as of yet but if it does get out of hand then the Battle Scholars of La Push would be paying them a visit, a visit that they wouldn't like if they chose to play it by ear.

The end of the conversation was for Leo telling Kingsley to contact him or Freya through the mobile phone he gifted him if there was something he needed help with. As promised, Kingsley told him that he would only contact him if ever the need was great since he didn't want to burden the two anymore considering what they went through during the war which Leo was thankful for.

Also, before Leo left, Kingsley thanked him for the proxy seats since it helped in pushing the new Werewolf Rights in the Wizengamot, giving the werewolves better rights as part of Wizarding Britain.

Since he didn't want to face the mob again, Leo commandeered the use of the Minister's _Floo_ to take him to the Headmistress' office in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo exited the _floo_ and found himself in the office of Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He was immediately welcomed and hugged by a happy McGonagall before planting a kiss on his cheek. Fortunately, his experience with Sue, Leah, and Freya desensitize him that he no longer blushed when showed signs of affection. He concluded that La Push was turning him for the better and Embry's presence would make sure that it would improve from there.

After a short storytelling session in which Leo told McGonagall everything about his stint in La Push, except for the wolves, they got down to business.

The first agenda was the discussion on why she wanted the Chamber of Secrets to be opened.

McGonagall informed him that thanks to the bill on the improvement of Werewolf Rights in Wizarding Britain, the school was seeing a lot of werewolf students from across the globe since only a few schools would accept them due to their curse. When it was announced the Magical Britain no longer ostracized their affliction, werewolves from around the globe relocated to Britain with the blessing of the Ministry of Magic with plans in place to deal with their transformation.

The Chamber of Secrets would be converted to a haven in which the werewolf students would reside during the full moon, keeping them away from the rest of the population of Hogwarts to make sure that accidents don't happen even if they are under the influence of _Wolfsbane_.

This was the reason why she wanted Leo to explore the Chamber of Secrets thoroughly since it is quite possible that the place was more than just a haven for the basilisk, and open it to the rest of Hogwarts. The faculty would be putting in enough protection that it would be sealed off when the werewolves were down there.

Also, since it was Salazar's chamber, it was possible that a secret area might be present that held many of the Founder's knowledge which both agreed should not be made available to the Wizarding public, especially the students, to avoid another disaster from happening.

One Voldemort was enough, thank you very much.

It was around dinner time that they finished their discussion and a plan that both of them would be going down to the chamber tomorrow to check it out. The Headmistress told him that Gryffindor's Quarters was his till perpetuity for the contributions he made to the school. McGonagall invited him to join the faculty for dinner which he readily agreed.

He might not like the attention it would bring but he loved Hogwarts too much to hide his presence.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo was glad that he accepted the invitation to dine with the faculty dinner since it eventually evolved to an impromptu reunion due to the presence of some of his classmates who joined the staff. When the students left, but not before shooting him with looks of awe and reverence, he and his peers commandeered the Gryffindor table for a bit of a reunion and storytelling.

Joining him on the Gryffindor Table were Neville Longbottom, Cho Chang, Bill Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Terry Boot, Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, and Dennis Creevey.

Leo spent most of the time before he went to the Gryffindor's Quarters for the night exchanging stories about his life with his sister. Of course, he refrained from telling them that he made a home in La Push and just informed them that he was 'somewhere' in the world making a life for himself with his surrogate sister.

After his story, it was his former classmates' turn to undulate him with their own.

For starters, Neville Longbottom informed him that his grandmother already passed on to the Next Great Adventure though he was happy for her since her health had been on a steady decline since the war ended. His parents were still in St. Mungo and visited them regularly to keep them company. In regards to his tenure in Hogwarts, he was apprenticing under Professor Sprout to acquire his mastery in Herbology and pursue his dream to open up a large greenhouse for his own business. He also served as an assistant professor if required and was given the Gryffindor Head of House position since the Headmistress wanted to avoid favoritism.

Leo discovered that Luna Lovegood was still fun as ever. Her exposure in the war mellowed her a bit but not enough. She was still the Editor of Quibbler but mostly spends time in Hogwarts and used her free weekends to take care of the publishing. She was in Hogwarts serving as the new Divination professor since Sybill Trelaway resigned two years ago. He laughed out loud when he heard that the reason for Trelaway's resignation was her 'inner eye' telling her that she needed to seek greener pastures somewhere, though everyone had a sneaky suspicion that she resigned because no one attended her class.

As to why Luna got the position, he suspected that Luna had a bit of Seer ability in her since she was prone to giving weird, yet spot-on, advice with the addition of the creatures she keeps sprouting about.

Cho was still Cho in Leo's opinion. She already got over the death of Cedric and was happily dating a wizard working in Hogsmeade as a Magical Architect. She took the position as the Flying Instructor when Madma Hooch retired after accepting a coaching position for the Hollyhead Harpies.

Terry Boot became the DADA Professor and had been in the position for 2 years now – meaning that Voldemort's curse was broken when he died for good. When Terry graduated, he enlisted to be trained in the Auror Corps for 2 years and spent the next two years in the field. Thanks to this somewhat impressive resume, he was qualified to teach DADA to the students. Leo gave him some teaching tips when Terry asked since it was obvious that Leo was a better teacher considering that most of his skills came from his time in the DA.

Like Neville, Susan Bones apprenticed herself to Professor Flitwick for her Mastery in Charms.

Daphne Greengrass, the heir to one of the few neutral families in the _Second Wizarding War_, was hired this year to take the post of Transfiguration Professor since McGonagall didn't have the time to teach and manage the school at the same time.

The most surprising addition to the faculty was young Dennis Creevey. After his brother's death, he became a serious student and took an interest in studying magical creatures. After graduation, he immediately applied for a post in the Romanian Dragon Reserve since his interest in dragons started when Leo out flew a Hungarian Horntail during the First Task in the Triwizard Tournament. He still had his brother's picture of that event and kept it on his bedside table much to Leo's amusement.

Another addition to the faculty that Leo didn't expect was Bill Weasley. The eldest of the Weasley Family informed him that Fleur urged him to quit his job in Gringotts and Molly backed her up since she didn't want to put her family in any more danger ever since Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Considering he had a daughter, Victoria, at that time and another on the way, he accepted their requests and applied as a Warding and Curse Breaking instructor in Hogwarts when McGonagall opened a position for specialization in the school. He's been a faculty for 4 years now and was happy for it since he was near his family and could drop by as he pleases if the mood hits him.

When the others left, Bill informed Leo that his mother and father, as well as some of the Weasleys miss him very much. Ginny and Ron was the only exception to the rule since they were bitter towards him when their father discovered their plot to acquire Leo's inheritance.

As punishment, they were immediately put to work and banned from any form of fun for the next two years. A side-effect to this punishment was the two learning all about responsibility. They could never forgive Leo, not that he cared, for outing them out but they were working hard in amassing their own fortune – Ron being a successful inventor in Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes when George took him as an apprentice in pranks, and Ginny being a successful Chaser for the harpies.

* * *

**January 17, 2006**

**8:10AM**

The next day, after breakfast, Leo and McGonagall made their way to the girl's bathroom in the second floor which held the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The Headmistress informed him that the bathroom was closed off considering what it was holding, though Leo found out that Myrtle was still there moaning about her death.

Leo opened the entrance and tried a few combinations in _parseltongue_ until he was able to get the right combination which caused a stairwell to appear from the sides of the pipes. When they got to the caved-in cavern where Lockhart lost his memory, the duo worked in tandem to clear the debris and reinforced the walls with spells to make sure that it doesn't happen. When that was done, he opened the actual entrance to the chamber before entering, stepping foot in the legendary chamber for the first time in 14 years.

Leo was a bit awed at seeing the Chamber of Secrets for the second time considering his first when he was more focused in finding Ginny and staying alive. As they traversed the pathway that would lead them to the wall at the end that depicted the head of Salazar Slytherin and the entrance to the basilisk's den, Harry couldn't help but shudder at the numerous snakehead statues lining the path as if they guiding him towards his destination.

Leo pointed out the pipe which the basilisk used to get around Hogwarts and the Headmistress promised that she would the house elves map it so they would have a general idea where they led. When they got to the end of the chamber, Leo saw the bones of the basilisk and immediately asked the Headmistresses if he could take it with him since it was possible that it could be used as potion ingredients. She immediately agreed since by right of conquest, it was his, before calling a dozen house elves to her and had it packed and placed in Gryffindor's Quarters.

Repeating the password to open the statue that he heard from the specter of young Tom Riddle back in Second Year, the duo of would-be explorers entered the dank cavern until they reached a fork in the path.

They first took the left path which eventually led them to a sealed entrance that opened up to a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. Not wanting to traverse the dangerous woods, both retracted their steps but not before collapsing the entrance and Leo conjuring a large stone wall and inscribed it with runes for invulnerability. That should be enough cut off one of the entrances into the castle and stop werewolf students from making their way into the forest.

They made their way back and followed the other fork until they were came to a dead end with a non-wizarding portrait of Salazar Slytherin. Both were confused as to why a portrait would be down in the chamber but chalked it up to one of the Snake Founder's quirks.

"Don't you think it is a bit weird that Salazar Slytherin would place a non-wizarding portrait inside his own chamber?" asked McGonagall as she eyed the portrait curiously. Leo couldn't agree more but something nagged at his mind.

"The question is…why Salazar Slytherin would place a non-wizarding portrait in a dead-end inside his own chamber?" commented Leo as he inspected the portrait. Acting on instinct, he approached the painting and hissed out in _parseltongue_. _"Open."_

Instead of opening outwards, the portrait sunk into the floor revealing an archway. Carefully, Leo walked with McGonagall behind him. As he set foot into the chamber, the torches suddenly came to life, illuminating a large circular room with a table in the middle with a high-back chair behind it.

No, the room's eye-catching feature was the wall protecting the chamber. Instead grey stone that was part of Hogwarts' architecture, the walls contained shelves holding hundreds, or possibly thousands of books and scrolls. The ceiling was as high as the ones in the Great Hall and Leo saw ladders attached to the shelves with wheels and similar ones at the foot, which he assumed was used to traverse the vaunted library that was Slytherin's collection.

"This is amazing." McGonagall breathed out in amazement as her eyes wandered around the room.

"Indeed." Leo agreed. "There were no records of Salazar Slytherin's books ever being circulated in public like the rest of the Founders though those are rare and mostly hidden by families. It seems that Salazar hoarded all of his life's work and discoveries here in this chamber to be hidden forever, Chamber of Secrets indeed."

McGonagall nodded, her eyes not leaving the books.

"Then it's a good thing that I asked you to come down here and investigate the place then if this was here. If a student ever finds this place then we won't know what they would do with this knowledge." agreed McGonagall as she moved into the chamber towards the lone table. She saw the dusts on the surface. "From the amount of dusts, I would say that this has been here for a very long time and no one ever used it after Slytherin left the school."

"I agree. Considering the lack of recent activity, I would say that we were lucky that Riddle never found this chamber or it would have been more difficult to bring him down; or worse, won the war and killed us all." said Leo as he moved to one of the lower shelves and picked out a book, opened it and read its content before a frown marred his face. He replaced the book and pulled out another then another.

After the fifth book, he grinned and turned back to a confused McGonagall.

"If a student did find this chamber, let alone get past the enchantment on the door since it would only work in _parseltongue_, I doubt that they would be able to make use of the knowledge offered in this room."

"And why is that, Mr. Potter?" asked McGonagall in confusion. She didn't know what Harry was trying to say.

Leo grinned and brought the book on the table and opened it for the Headmistress to see. Instead of English, or even Old English for the matter, she saw a flowing script in a language that she didn't recognize. It wasn't even in letters. It was just a flowing script like a live snake. She was about to ask when Leo beat her to it.

"What you're seeing here is a book written in _parseltongue_." Leo said with a grin. "The books I opened before this one are also written in _parseltongue_. If my guess is correct then every book you see here was written using the snake language. I think Slytherin was a paranoid person if he resorted to safeguarding all his knowledge through the use of a language common only to his family. Riddle would have a field day if he was able to discover this secret."

McGonagall sniffed before nodding her head in approval to Harry's statement as she eyed the book in distaste.

"Well, if that is the case then it would be best if you take all of these with you when you go back to your home." suggested McGonagall as she looked around the chamber. She couldn't help but notice that the layout was similar to her office back in the tower.

"Take them with me?" asked her in disbelief. McGonagall leveled him a condescending gaze.

"Mr. Potter, if you're assumption is correct and I would have to agree that you are; then you're the only person who can make use of the information recorded within these tomes. You are the only _parseltongue_ in existence and leaving all of these precious tomes lying somewhere would be useless. So I suggest that you pack all these up and bring them it with you."

Leo couldn't believe what he just heard. McGonagall was giving all these to him instead of preserving it somewhere in Hogwarts?

"Are you sure?" he asked in disbelief. "I'm not even a Slytherin."

"You may not be a Slytherin by blood or association, Mr. Potter, but the fact remains that you have the blood trait of Slytherin's family. The only _parseltongue_ other than you was Voldemort and I thank you that you got rid of him for us. If you ever have children then I guess that number would increase in the future."

Leo could only nod in agreement. The books held all the knowledge that Salazar knew when he was alive and not making use of it was a travesty to his profession. He was a Battle Scholar and any knowledge was important to him. He made a mental note, however, to find a _translation spell_ or something to translate _parseltongue_ among these books for Freya to use since she would be hounding him to have all these translated to English just so she could read them.

Both decided to pack up the books later after Leo makes a quick trip to Diagon Alley to purchase a trunk with expanded space to store all these books. A single trunk wouldn't be able to hold all these tomes so he might need to acquire a dozen or so just to get this project done.

Once the duo agreed on a plan for the removal of the books in the chamber, they started casting _revealing spells_ and _scanning charms_ to determine if there were any other secrets inside the room. Fortunately, or unfortunately for the would-be explorers, there weren't any so McGonagall deemed it safe. If other rooms were ever found when Leo wasn't around then it would be safe to say that those were only accessible by a _parseltongue_ and no one else.

-x-x-x-x-x-

McGonagall excused herself when they arrived at the entrance to the chamber in Myrtle's Bathroom since she needed to plan for the renovation of the Chamber of Secrets to get it done as soon as possible since the next full moon was two weeks away.

Leo, on the other hand, was coming up with a method to give the Hogwarts Faculty access to the chamber without having to destroy the entrance. The protection that Slytherin placed on the entrance to the Chamber was full-proof for anyone who didn't speak _parseltongue_. He was toying with the idea of a recording spell tied to a runic stone so it could be played if necessary. Making such a stone was simple but he needed to experiment with it a bit to make sure that he got it right before bequeathing it to the Headmistress.

Since it was still early, Leo decided to immediately head to Diagon Alley for the purchase of the trunks. There was a lot of packing to do and the sooner he's done with it, the earlier he could return to La Push and his mate.

* * *

**January 18, 2006**

**10:00AM**

The elves were a big help in packing all the books into the trunks he bought in Diagon Alley yesterday and was able to get it done before he retired to his room for the evening.

While the elves were placing the books into the trunks, he was using the desk in the study-cum-library to experiment with the runic stone. He worked at it for the whole afternoon and tested it at the entrance of the chamber to see if it worked.

Fortunately for him, it did.

He created a dozen stones to be given to the Headmistress to be distributed accordingly.

Now that he solved the problem and the Chamber of Secrets was open to anyone who had access to the _Parsel Stones_ as he called them, his job was done. He shrunk the trunks containing the books, as well as the lone trunk that held the skeleton of the basilisk before heading straight to the Headmistress' Office.

With a simple farewell and Leo offering his services to her if there was need, he used the _floo_ in the office to get to Diagon Alley where he would do a little bit of shopping before going home. He was wondering if Embry would love to try out some wizarding treats since he knew that his mate had a bit of a sweet tooth.

He made a mental note to send a letter to Andy to meet up tomorrow at the Leaky Cauldron since he was able to finish his errand earlier than expected.

* * *

**End of Chapter 14**

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	15. Finding Out What Happened

**Thanks to FantasyLover74 for being my sounding board. I love you, my mistress. He he he he**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight. Never have and never will. **

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 15: Finding Out What Happened**

* * *

**January 19, 2006**

**11:20AM**

Leo yawned tiredly as he stretched lazily on his bed in a rented room in the Leaky Cauldron. He spent the whole afternoon yesterday combing the various candy stores in Diagon Alley to purchase a few boxes of assorted sweets that he thought his mate would want to tryout or even like.

Not content with his purchase, he made a quick stop in Hogsmeade and ransacked Honeydukes for five boxes of their famous chocolates, the bigger the better. Three of those were for Embry while the two would be on stock since Freya seemed to like them too, though he was sure that his mate would eat it all up. His sweet tooth before he phased was immense. Now, though, he shuddered at how much sweet the newly-phased wolf would be eating; and considering that he was his mate, he would be running to Merlin Street a lot just to satisfy his cravings.

Sure, he was a pansy when it came to Embry but he didn't care. He loved the teen and wouldn't want to change a hair on his head if he could help it.

No, his shopping trip yesterday wasn't the reason why he was tired despite getting a full eight hours of sleep.

He spent the night and until 3:00AM to check out the books he got from Salazar Slytherin's study-cum-library in the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't read any of them but he did sort them out according to their title. Out of the 12 trunks containing the books, he was able to go through and itemized the titles on the first three. He was a bit awed when he discovered that most the books on the three trunks were potions texts that Snape would give a limb just to read one. He was almost salivating at what those potions texts contained and couldn't help the urge to start experimenting with them when he gets home in the Den.

The jewel of the night, or morning in this case, was finding the three journals of Salazar Slytherin.

The first two journals chronicled the creation of Hogwarts. He was somewhat stunned after reading a few pages and skimming through others that the school took roughly 50 years to build from scratch. Construction was quite easy since Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw were nobility and had the funds and power to provide the necessary manpower for the job. Heck, the land where Hogwarts was standing was original a duchy belonging to Gryffindor before he donated it for the school.

Helga's contribution was the grounds. He was further shocked when he discovered that the Forbidden Forest was one of Helga Hufflepuff's project to create a home for various magical creatures who wanted to hide from the muggles. The forest also served as one of Hogwarts' defenses against potential raids from occasion rabid muggles who wanted nothing but to exterminate the magical during the Dark Ages.

Salazar's contribution, according to the journal, was to devise the various wards that the castle would be under. Aside from being a Potion Master of renown, he was and foremost a Master Warder.

Leo couldn't help but think of himself as a modern day Salazar Slytherin, though he could be right since he spoke _parseltongue_ and his skill set were focused on those two subjects with a few specialization thrown in for good measure.

He yawned again and stood up from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. He ignored the mirror commenting on his physique while taking a leak before banishing his bed clothes back to his room as he strode in to the shower for a wake-up bath.

It was 30 minutes later that he left the bathroom, dry and completely naked. He never did like towels since a spell could get rid of all the water on his body in a second.

He moved to his personal trunk and pulled out some formal wear to wear before going to the Tonk's residence. He got a note last night from Andromeda Tonks nee Black to just use the floo to go to her place for their talk. He definitely approved of the plan since there would be no privacy in having a family talk in a room full of people who lives and breathes gossip. Considering who they were going to listen to, Leo expected the news to spread the minute he left the tavern and everyone in the Wizarding World would know what he was up to. Heck, he expected the Daily Prophet to make a headline out of it.

No, he definitely didn't want that so he immediately approved of Andromeda's plan.

After putting on his clothes and shrinking all the items in the room before placing them in his pocket, he left the rented room and went down to the lounge to order a bite to eat before going to his scheduled meeting.

It was never a good idea to go into a serious discussion in an empty stomach.

-x-x-x-x-x-

**La Push**

**2:15PM**

Freya was currently on her way to the reportedly empty Cullen's home to check if the rumors were true or not. Her decision to do so was to make sure that the information she got from Bella Swan when they met for the second time in the Clearwater home was correct.

Thinking of Bella Swan made her shake her head. Freya's family prided themselves on being logical and Bella – considering that she was a relative - was far from being one. Sure, she had a brain in her head but it seemed that all the cells that make up its composition all died when she met Edward Cullen. The girl was a wreck when Freya saw her.

Thankfully, she was somewhat better thanks to the efforts of one Jacob Black.

The day after her brother left for England to open the Chamber of Secrets on McGonagall's request, she received a call from Billy that he got a word from Quil that Bella brought over two broken motorcycles to the garage and asked for Jacob to fix it up for her.

It was supposed to be a secret but Quil was behind the garage at that time washing his greasy work clothes so he heard everything and dutifully reported it to the elder Black. The young Atera wasn't tattling but considering that Jacob would be using the business' resources for their 'secret' project; he needed to tell the manager about it.

Once Billy got word of their plans through Quil, he immediately called her up to explain the situation. Considering what Bella had been through, Freya told Billy to leave the two alone and Jacob was responsible enough to make sure that nothing serious happened. If they wanted to make use of the shop's resources to return the girl to the land of the living then go ahead.

Besides, working on something might get rid of Bella's emotional problem and she knew that Jacob was the best man for the job since the teen was unnaturally happy all the time; though she did tell Billy to keep his eyes peeled while pretending that he didn't know anything and to report to her when the trouble rears its ugly mug.

The day after that was the day that she met Bella. She was invited by Leah for a quiet dinner at her home since Seth specifically asked her to invite Freya along. His reason was "She's all alone at home and Leo isn't around. Besides, she gets to eat a perfectly good meal with me manning the kitchen."

When Freya heard that from Leah, she couldn't help but release a chuckle. She had always liked the Clearwaters, especially Seth. He was a happy kid who followed her brother around like a lost puppy. She was proud of the boy's decision to learn Leo's cooking skills and it showed from the type of food he's been making. It wasn't on Leo's level but who was?

Besides, there was something about Seth genuine innocence that made her want to keep him close and protected all the time.

Speaking of dinner, Jacob invited Bella over to the Cleawaters as well since he was also invited. After getting the approval of Sue to bring Bella along, they came after she did and was able to observe the by-play between the two.

For starters, her initial observation of Bella was that she was a mess. Freya could practically feel the angst rolling off her in waves. According to Charlie, she was worst before she hooked up with Jacob. Now, she was talking and interacting with everyone though it was somewhat forced. Freya couldn't help but feel that the girl asking Jacob for help with the bikes was a plan for something else. She just didn't know what.

Conversation after dinner was fun and interesting. She spent most of her time talking to Leah and Seth while Jacob entertained Bella. While she was busy listening to Seth on how she tried a Chinese recipe before it backfired, a passing comment from Jacob caught her attention.

According to Bella, the Cullens left a week after her birthday party at their house in Forks. She didn't give any reason but she was adamant that they left because of her. She didn't know why or the reason they left but the facts coming from Bella pointed to only one direction.

They all left because of Bella or something to do with her. She needed to find out what the reason was since the girl wasn't forthcoming.

This was the reason why she was making her way to the Cullen's home on her Fiesta. Thankfully, the nurse she met in Forks General Hospital was kind enough to give her Carlisle's address when she informed her that she needed to meet with the good doctor for a check-up. Since he wasn't in the hospital, it only stands to reason that she go to him instead.

She saw a path beside the highway which fit the description the helpful nurse gave her. Turning on the wheel, the Fiesta swiveled off the highway and onto the dirt path. It was smooth considering that she was already in the woods but she assumed that the Cullens might have paved it for a smoother ride.

After five minutes of driving which led her deeper into the woods, she caught sight of a magnificent home surrounded by the forest of Forks. It was a decent size mansion and the glasses that decorated the place might let the people give it the moniker 'The Beautiful Glass House in The Forest'.

She stepped on the break when she reached the entrance of the home and got out of the car. She immediately stretched her magical senses to try to find out if there were vampires inside. She got traces of the signature indicating that whoever was inside, they were long gone.

Confident that she was alone, she walked up the stairs and stopped by the front door. She turned the knob and found that it was locked. A mental _Alohamora_ later, the door was open revealing the insides of the luxurious Cullen residence.

From the looks of it, they didn't bring anything with them when they left. Considering that they were vampires and long-lived, Freya assumed that they were loaded if someone came in and ransacked the place, they wouldn't care or chalk it up to charity.

She walked around and noticed that various furniture and fixtures adorning the interior and couldn't deny the fact that the place was a work of art. The only thing that she found out of place was a vacant area where a table should have been placed. She checked the floor and found that there were shards of broken glass. There was no way to find out what happened but assumed that something did that caused one of the furniture to break. Vampires were always careful and breaking furniture was one of the things they wouldn't accidentally do unless it was intentional or there was a fight here.

Shrugging, she left the first floor and made her way to the next.

As she traversed the stairs, she noticed a wall where there were a lot of graduation caps adorning it. Freya chuckled since the Cullens were reputed to act normal around humans so it would be safe to assume that they attended school. From the amount of caps on the wall, they've been doing it for a very long time.

This brought a small chuckle to escape her lips before she continued on with her investigation.

It was twenty minutes later that she left the Cullen home and sat on the hood of her Fiesta. Nothing was out of place and there was no evidence there that she could find that would give credit to Bella's admission. Well, if the eye can't see then maybe four sets of extra sensitive noses might help. She pulled out her phone and was about to make a call when she realized something.

The Cullen home and their surrounding lands were empty. They left but it was possible that they might return or some of their vampire friends might turn this place into a summer home.

If that was the case then they needed to keep an eye on the situation.

With a mischievous smile on her face, she made the call.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Freya was currently sitting on the hood of her fiesta while sipping a conjured tea when four gigantic wolves burst out from the foliage. She raised an eyebrow when the gray wolf was whining and pawing his nose. She chalked it up to the scent of vampires in the area and Paul's nose was extra sensitive to that sort of thing. Freya noticed that the gray wolf with black spots was carrying a backpack on his mouth.

Good, they brought it along.

"Okay guys, you can change now. I need to talk to you and I don't want to do it mentally." she said with a smile.

The four shifters changed back to their human forms revealing Sam, Jared, Paul, and Embry – the latter was looking around curiously. She saw the curious look on her brother's mate.

"First time to be here, Em?" she asked the soul-bonded wolf.

"Yep." Embry quipped before picking up the backpack he dropped on the floor before he shifted; he took a few experimental sniffs and wrinkled his nose. "Sweet...too sweet. Bleegh."

She smiled at the overdramatic shifter. Her brother definitely chose a keeper for a mate. She turned to Sam who was looking intently at the house. Jared and Paul were doing the same.

"Thank you for coming, Sam. I'm surprised that you brought the whole pack with you." declared Freya seriously.

Sam shrugged.

"I was shocked when you called me up and told me that you were in the Cullen's home doing a little bit of investigating. It was stupid to come here on your own but I knew that you can take care of yourself if a vampire was around." said Sam after snapping his attention to her. Freya nodded. "However, it is always good to take precautions. Who knows, you might need the back-up."

"Glad you know." she said with a smile on her face. She always liked Sam's serious side. It reminded her of the old Freya, the old Hermione. "Anyway, I called you here to assist me with something."

"What do you need?" asked Jared while Paul nodded eagerly. Considering that they hadn't had any actions for weeks now, it was obvious they craved for anything to do aside from patrolling.

"No one's in the house and I don't feel the presence of any vampires within a 500 meter radius so you can relax." The shifters followed her advice which caused her to smile. "I found some weird things at the house and I want you to use your excellent nose to isolate the scents. I know that your noses are wired towards vampires and are uncannily accurate with distinguishing scents so I want you to go in and sniff around."

"What do you expect us to find?" asked Sam in a serious voice.

"I don't want you to pay any attention to any scents that a vampire might have. I want you to focus on human scents."

This caused the shifters to look at her sharply.

"Human scents? Why in the world would you want us to look for human scents in a house where vampires lived?" Jared asked with a confused tilt of his head.

"Yesterday, I heard Bella tell Jacob that the Cullens left a week after a party was held for her in that house." she explained while jerking her thumb over her shoulder indicating the Cullen's residence. "From the way she told him, something happened that night that forced the Cullens to leave. I don't know why but I intend to find out and this is where your noses come into play."

"That's simple enough." Sam nodded, catching on to what Freya wanted them to do. "Why did you ask Embry to bring the backpack from the attic?"

"We'll get to that later but for now I want you to go into that house and start sniffing around. Ignore my scent if you catch it. Just sniff for other human scents and anything associated to it. I'll stay here so I won't complicate your investigation."

The shifters nodded and made their way into the house. Embry walked up to Freya and gave her a kiss on the cheek before putting the bag beside her before running to catch up with the rest of the pack.

It was 10 minutes later that the pack came back out and they had grim looks on their faces.

"We followed your instructions and you were right. There is a single human scent in the house. From what you told us earlier, we can safely say that it's Bella's. However, there is a scent of blood on the first floor."

Freya's gaze turned serious as she heard about the blood. Blood in a house full of vampire was never a good thing.

"Where did you pick up the scent of blood?" asked Freya seriously, a grim tone in her voice.

"In the living room near the piano." reported Sam, face equally grim. Freya nodded, everything clicking into place.

"Then I think I know what happened." said Freya, addressing the four shifters in front of her. "When I checked the house earlier, the room where the piano was caught my attention. There are shards of broken glass on the floor and I suspected that there might be a fight or an accident in that area. If you got the scent of blood in that room then I can safely say that it's Bella. Something happened that night on her birthday which caused her to draw blood. I can assume that one of the Cullens must have reacted violently to her blood and a fight broke out causing the glad table to be destroyed. If it did happen that way then the Cullens might have cut their losses and left Forks to make sure that it didn't happen again."

"We also checked the other rooms and one of them had the smell of blood as well, the same ones in the room with the piano." reported Embry.

"Which room?" she asked.

"The room where the hospital stuffs are kept." replied Embry.

"Then I will add to my theory. Carlisle must have treated Bella's wound." Then she remembered something. "When we saved Bella from the woods behind her house, I noticed that there was a deep laceration on her hand. If what you said is true then she got the wound in that very same room. Carlisle must have taken her to the place where the medical supplies are kept and treated her there."

"So you're saying that the leeches attacked Bella?" Paul asked incredulously.

"Who knows." she shrugged. "Besides, if she was attacked then it would be safe to say that she would have gotten something more than a simple laceration. Vampires are strong, after all. A small twist here and a simple smack there and voila…broken bones."

Sam nodded thoughtfully before voicing his own theory.

"So it's possible that Bella drew blood, one of the Cullens attacked and one of them protected Bella, most likely Edward. A fight broke out and broke the table. Then to protect themselves and Bella, they left. Is that it?"

"That's very possible." she said with a nod. "Now on to the next order of business; it is possible that the Cullen would be coming back or other vampires might use this house as a staging point or something. Such is the case; we are going to place the perimeter stones around the grounds. This way, we can keep an eye on the property in case some vampires come into the area. If they do set their sights on the Reservation then we would be better prepared with an advance warning in place."

The shifter's face slowly broke out into evil grins.

"How many of those stones you have in the bag?" Jared asked eagerly.

"There's 500 stones in there." She answered Jared's question. "Sam, I want you and the rest of your pack to scatter it around. The usual drill – you bury them and I'll power them. Make sure that you make your way from this house to the nearest border of La Push. That would be the most logical entry point for them. This might take a while since Leo's not here but we have all the time in the world. I'll go back inside the house and erase our scents to avoid detection that we've been here."

The shifters nodded and walked over the bag and took some stones out of the expanded space inside before getting to work.

It was going to be a long day for the five.

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**End of Chapter 15**

**Review Please**


	16. The Veil

**Special mention to FantasyLover74 in helping me with some ideas for this story. **

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 16: The Veil**

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**January 20, 2006**

**3:48AM**

Freya tiredly made her way to the map room in the Wolf's Den. It had been a grueling 11 hours of work powering the _perimeter stone_ and modifying some of them to remove the alarm. It's not a good idea to put in the alarm enchantment on a stone created to detect vampires in a land frequented by one. They would get a constant headache if that was the case and it wouldn't do much good since the shifters wouldn't be able to cross the boundary line in lieu to the condition of the treaty. Since the alarms were useless on their side of the fence, might as well remove them and get rid of the aggravation.

In the end, stones that were placed a few kilometers near the Treaty Line were the only ones with the alarm enchantment. The rest only contained the detection ability and nothing else. This would work as an advance warning system just in case a vampire came too close to the boundary of the Reservation. This would give the shifters time to mobilize and intercept just in case the vampire decides to venture into La Push territory.

Since she was so drained to drive or even _apparate_ back to the Den, Jared offered to drive her back to avoid any accidents. It was somewhat comical to see a 6'5 wolf shifter sitting on a car that was designed for a 5'9 or 5'10 driver. It was a miracle he could get inside, much less drive it properly.

It was also a good idea to accept Jared's offer since she fell asleep immediately when she strapped herself safely in the passenger seat. She napped the whole way to the Den and it did give her a small bout of energy, enough to get to the infirmary to some capsules to bring her back from snuff.

She cursed herself for forgetting to bring the emergency capsule case that Leo created for her.

Sighing, she went to a medicine cabinet and removed said case before taking out a _Pepper-Up Capsule_ and swallowed it. She felt her energy returning which caused her to release another relieved sigh.

She went to the map and tied the new stones to the map's enchantment. This part of the process was quite easy since she didn't have to expend all her magical energy to do so. All she needed to do was activate the map's ability to detect the stones. A burst of magical energy and she was done.

She grinned when she saw additional dots on the map indicating that the stones in Forks were active, especially those in and near the Cullen property. She tensed a bit when she saw two red dots heading to the Cullen home but later relaxed when the two red dots walked around the property before leaving the way they came. Both never came near the Treaty Line much to her relief. She wasn't in the right state to deal with a fight with vampires right now even if she wasn't in the front lines.

After doing some last minute detection work on the map to make sure that there were no problems to deal with later, she apparated to her room in the Den and literally dropped on her bed like a rock and immediately fell asleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-

**Tonks Residence**

**8:10AM**

Leo was currently sipping his tea and pondering on the talk he had with Andromeda yesterday, as well as the time he spent with his godson, Teddy, who he found to be absolutely loveable. A smile made his way to his lips when he first laid eyes on his 6-year old godson hiding behind her grandmother's legs looking up at him shyly as his grandmother introduced him to his godfather which he later called 'Unca Harry'.

Teddy Tonks-Lupin was the perfect blend of his parents, Leo could definitely see that. He had Remus brown locks and cheek bones and the mischievous streak had Dora's name all over it. he had a sneaky suspicion that the boy would be a Metamorphomagus like his mother but that would come out a year or two later when the child reaches a certain age where he could control his talent.

Also, considering who his father was, as well as his mother, Teddy was a Marauder. No wonder Andromeda wanted him to have a hand in his godson's life. The kid was a monster with an unlimited supply of energy to fuel his feet. He was everywhere and anywhere at the same time. It was maddening but he couldn't deny the fact that the 6 hours he spent with the tyke was likely the most fun he had in years, outside of the La Push pack of course.

If Remus and Tonks were alive right now, Leo was sure that they would be doting on Teddy everyday and the little Marauder would love every single minute of it.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he sensed someone enter the dining room.

"Good morning, Harry." greeted Andromeda with a smile.

"Good morning, Mrs. Tonk." Leo greeted back.

"None of that now." Andromeda chided him. "I told you yesterday to call me Andy."

Leo rolled his eyes before giving the remaining English Black alive a smile.

"Fine. Andy it is then. But from now on when we're in private, I want you to call me Leo." Leo retorted.

Andy nodded. She discovered from her discussion with him yesterday that Leo no longer wanted to be called by his old name since he started a new life in Washington State, same goes for his surrogate sister, Freya. The stories she heard from him as he detailed his life since leaving Hogwarts was amazing and couldn't but fall in love with the description of the Quilleute Reservation. She never knew that there were more magic in the world than she realized, which was saying something considering how traditional the English magicals were.

"Leo then." she agreed as she sat in front of Leo and poured herself a cup of tea. "Have you thought about my proposition yesterday?"

Leo agreed.

"Yes, I would love it if you join me in La Push where both of us could keep an eye and raise Teddy. Heck, I'm sure Freya would dote on the little tyke and I'm sure the ladies of the pack would love to dote on him day and night." he said with a grin. No matter how a handful Teddy was, he was certainly loveable.

"Then it's settled. I'll join you in La Push after I finish up here in England. Give me a month or two then I'll contact you when we're ready. I want to get away from here as soon as possible. Like how you and Freya left to get away from the memories, I too would want to follow in your steps. I sense that a new life in La Push is what the medi-witch ordered for me and my grandson." declared Andy and Leo could feel a little bit of excitement in her voice.

Ever since Andy lost Ted and Nymphadora, she withdrew herself from the wizarding public and became a hermit taking care of Teddy in memory of her daughter and family. Leo couldn't agree more that La Push would be best for her.

"Great. I'll be going back to La Push this afternoon via _portkey_ and inform everyone of the new addition to Marauder's Den. Freya and I will make sure that your rooms are ready when you arrive. I'll also inform the Quilleute Elders of your arrival and I'm sure they would _love_ to meet you." said Leo with a grin. He was already thinking about hooking up Billy with Andy. He was quite sure that the two would hit it off nicely. "Where's Teddy by the way?"

Andy sighed but the smile on her face said it all.

"One of the things Teddy inherited from Dora is her love of sleep. That girl never wakes up before noon and Teddy got that down pat more so since he's a growing boy. I'm not sure about Remus since he is the responsible one in their relationship so I hope some of his common sense was passed on to my grandson. If not then we are going to have our hands full for the next couple of years.

Leo released a barking laugh. Oh yes, La Push wouldn't know what hit them when Teddy Tonks-Lupin joins their tight-knit family.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo was deposited in the Attic by his _international portkey_. He shook his head to clear away the daze. Unlike regular _portkeys, international portkeys_ require more power to create which amplified its after-effects.

Another difference is the time difference. Regular _portkeys_ were instantaneous. _International portkeys_ differ according to how far the destination was going to be. Considering the distance, England to La Push took an hour at most depending on how much power was used in its creation. The amount of power he placed on that particular _portkey_ shortened his trip down to 20 minutes tops. So the faster he arrives at his destination, the faster the spinning would be. It was dizzying and vomit-inducing if one wasn't used to it.

He looked around and saw his surrogate sister enjoying a quiet read in the sofa. Grinning, he tiptoed towards her and was about to pounce when her voice stopped him.

"Welcome home, Leo." said Freya without looking up from her book. Leo pouted from being deprived of his fun. Sighing, he walked over the other couch and sat down.

"Glad to be back." he declared with a content sigh. It was really nice to be home. "How are things here while I was gone?"

Freya conjured a bookmark and placed it on the page she was reading before putting the closed book down on the table. She launched into her story while Leo listened intently.

"Good work with the _perimeter stones_, sis." Leo said with an approving nod. "At least now we have one way to keep an eye on the vampires while they're on the other side of the boundary."

"I know. But it's somewhat worrying that my distant relative doesn't have an ounce of self-preservation in that head of hers. You would think that she would be discouraged in coupling with a vampire when she was almost killed by one?" Freya declared in an exasperated voice.

Leo shrugged and grinned.

"Bella is just one of those unique girls who love the romanticism involved in having a relationship with a supernatural creature." he said in a condescending tone. "Speaking of supernatural creature, where is Em?"

Freya rolled her eyes. She already expected him to ask where his mate was. He was too predictable that way.

"He's down in the garage helping his best friends with the workload. Billy called Em up earlier and told him to come down to the garage to lend a hand. The amount of customers they have is staggering."

Leo nodded in approval and Freya could see a hint of pride behind those emerald orbs.

"They do a good job and they don't overcharge with their services. That is why people keep coming back and spreading the word. It's good to know that Em's using his time well. What was he doing here anyway?" he asked curiously.

"He wanted more detailed information about magic so I gave him a book for muggleborns who are on their first year at Hogwarts. It contained all the information he needs to get to know the Wizarding World better." replied Freya.

Leo nodded before launching his own story, telling his sister what he did in England.

First, she was ecstatic to hear about the books they were able to retrieve from the Chamber of Secrets but her excitement was replaced by anger when Leo told her that it was written in a language that she could never read. Leo had to placate her that there should be _something_ in Salazar's books to help a regular witch or wizard read the script without having the parseltongue ability. He cringed when Freya threatened him find it as soon as possible or he would be spending all his life translating everything.

He cringed, but not in fear, but for his sensitive hearing when his sister squealed in delight when he told her that Andy and Teddy would be moving in with them in a month or two. She knew that her sister craved for female company and Leah wasn't enough since she didn't know about magic so the topic of discussion was limited to muggle subjects.

Andy, on the other hand, was well known for being a Charms Mistress and a Medi-Witch to boot so Leo was sure that the two would get along just fine.

Freya told Leo that they would go out shopping sometime this week to make a room for Teddy and she would enlist some of the shifters to help with the design since she hadn't a clue what to put in a boy's room. Leo agreed immediately since he wanted his godson to have a room of his own, as well as limiting the place of mischief in the house.

Once the discussion was out of the way, Leo immediately settled down and started unpacking everything he brought with him from England. He showed Freya the twelve trunks containing the books and promised her that he would start combing the topics for a way to help her read parsel-script.

Since Freya couldn't help with the books, Leo gave her the sweets he brought with him and asked her to put them away and hide them from Em since that boy was good at detecting anything remotely sweet, by instinct or by his nose, they never could tell.

* * *

It was two days later in checking the books that he was able to find a spell that would allow a _parseltongue_ to enchant a pair of glasses to translate the snake language to English. It was written in one of Salazar's Journal during the creation of Hogwarts that Ravenclaw was berating him for writing the ward schematics in parsel-script. Not wanting to translate, he created a spell that would allow the bright witch to read his notes easily. Leo immediately conjured a pair of glasses for his sister and enchanted it with the spell.

Freya was ecstatic when she tested the enchantment and found it working. She immediately dove into the books and helping him sort the books in their twice-expanded library just to make sure that they all fit and catalogued properly.

If Leo wasn't immersed in books, he was spending time with his mate.

He was correct in his assessment in regards to his mate and sweets. When he showed Embry the wizarding treats he brought from England, the teen immediately dove into it with gusto, moaning with each bite that made Leo shiver since it was putting his tightly-controlled hormones into overdrive.

It was rare not to see Embry nibbling on a wizarding treat at the den, whether it was licourice wands, cauldron cakes, or Chocolate Frogs. Leo immediately hid the Honeydukes chocolates when Embry went on a sugar-high when he gulped down an entire bar in less than 5 minutes. Leo had to shift to Griever just to pin the hyperactive teenager down.

If Embry wasn't in the garage working or at school, the teen was in the Den or at the tiny cottage by the beach with his imprint enjoying each other's company. They would tell stories about each other, like Leo's time at Hogwarts and his crazy adventures; and Embry would launch into his own story about his life in La Push. They never moved past kissing and both were content on leaving it at that for the moment though the two admitted to each other that controlling themselves was pretty difficult since their animal instincts were starting to override their human control.

Another change in their relationship was Embry accepting Leo's offer to take up residence in the Den. The elders immediately gave their blessing since they knew that Embry never really had a permanent home ever since his mother died while he was young. Also, they trusted Freya to keep an eye on the two that they don't…um…experiment too much considering Embry was underage.

However, this action resulted in Sam hanging out a lot in the Den much to Freya and Leo's amusement.

Speaking of Sam, the conversation between him and his half-brother was a bit tense though everyone was thankful that it didn't degenerate into a fight. The revelation was not well-received by the young shifter but clearly understood that they could not have known the truth at that time because of the lack of ways to determine who exactly his father was; though the teen did laugh out loud he was told that there was a possibility that either Billy and Quil Sr. was his dad.

Embry told the latter that he should have been extremely virile if he could get his mother pregnant considering his age. Fortunately, the old man didn't get the joke or pretended that he didn't.

In the end, Sam became a part of Embry's life and started spending time with each other to start a brotherly bond. This had the side-effect of the alpha wolf being overprotective of his brother which resulted in a lot of chaperoned in-house dates. Embry grumbled about annoying half-brothers while Leo took it all in stride though there was a glint in his eyes that would spell disaster if Sam took it too far. Embry was HIS mater after all.

Billy reported that there might be another addition to the pack soon – Jacob. When the elder Black noticed his son's high temperature and growth spurt, he immediately called up Freya. Wanting to be discreet, the English Blacks immediately planned a little get together in their private beach where Freya hit Jacob with a bunch of diagnostic spells to get a better reading.

From the activity of the teen's core, Jacob would be shifting in a month or two so they had plenty of time to prepare for the change. As an afterthought, Freya also hit the rest of the teens to stay ahead in the game. The closest to change was Jacob followed by Quil. Leah and Seth would have another two or three months before they shift unless a vampire appears close to them that would trigger the change earlier.

This was also the time that Harry Clearwater complained to Freya that he was having some problems with his heart so he was hit with a diagnostic spell as well. It was a good idea too since their resident healer discovered that Harry had a huge possibility of suffering from a stroke with deadly consequences.

The Clearwater elder was immediately subjected to a diet program with some potions thrown in for good measure. This wouldn't take the problem away but it would help in minimizing the damage if the worst does happen.

It was by the end of January that Freya got a call from Charlie informing her that Bella might be suicidal. This caused the witch to raise her eyebrow in question and asked a clearly worried Chief of Police why he arrived at that conclusion.

First, Bella had to go to the ER and had the wound on her head stitched up. The angst-ridden teen claimed that she suffered an accident while in the garage while visiting Jacob, which Freya found to be an unlikely story since the garage was prepped to make sure that everything was safe and Jacob was nothing but a neat freak when it came to tools.

The second incident happened when Bella claimed that she fell while hiking in the woods. Freya bit back a string of expletives why a girl would want to hike in a place where there were daily reports of bear sightings.

After assuring the distraught police officer that those were just accidents because the wounds on Bella didn't conform to the profile of a suicidal teen. They were just accidents, simple as that; though Freya informed Charlie to keep his eyes peeled just in case which the Chief of Police immediately agreed to do.

When the call ended, Freya immediately dialed Sam to make sure that the woods surrounding Forks were included in their patrol since the Treaty was null and void anyway with the absence of the Cullens. She told the alpha shifter of Bella's foray into the woods which caused the big guy to lose a bit of his composure. Sam immediately agreed and promised to take the necessary precaution to make sure that the daughter of Billy's best friend didn't get into too much trouble, especially with the number of vampires entering Washington State. They couldn't forbid her since that would only spark a rebellious streak a mile wide and make things complicated for them in the long run.

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**February 3, 2006**

Leo was currently reading intently a book from Salazar's collection – the book containing information on the Veil of Death in the Department of Ministries.

According to the book, the Veil was a magical artifact used by early witches and wizards to convict criminals. During Salazar's time where Azkaban was non-existent and prisons were not yet being used, the Veil was used to judge those convicted to determine whether they are innocent or not.

Once a convict enters the veil, the spirit of the dead would judge the person to see if they were free from guilt. If they were found guilty then the body would be destroyed and their spirit transported to the afterlife.

However, if the person was innocent then a set of runes on the face of the archway would light up and a spell was necessary to bring the person back to resume their life.

When Leo read that part, he immediately scanned the book for the rune set. When he found it, he immediately traced it on a piece of parchment before sending it to Minister Shacklebolt to determine if the runes were adorning the archway. If it was then there was a chance for Sirius to return.

The book explained that the innocent stuck inside the veil would be in limbo. They were literally dead in all aspect but the presence of the body inside the veil indicated that the person could be brought back to life. To put it simply, the person would be temporarily dead.

Leo immediately breathed a sigh of relief since he clearly remembered Sirius appearing with his parents when he summoned them using the Resurrection Stone and had considered him dead beyond help.

If Sirius was innocent then his body should still be in the veil, stuck there until someone brings him out. If the return runes were to be activated, then the veil would inject his godfather's soul back into his body and kicked out of the veil to make way for the next person to come through.

If his hunch was correct then Sirius would be back in the land of the living again.

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**End of Chapter 16**

**Please Review.**


	17. From Sirius to Canis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Twilight**

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**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 17: From Sirius to Canis**

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**February 7, 2006**

Leo walked with determined steps towards the Death Chamber deep in the Department of Ministries accompanied by Freya, Minster Shacklebolt, and Fawkes riding on his shoulder.

He received a reply from the Minister a day after he sent his request informing him that the runes were indeed present on the arch; and according to the _Unspeakable_ in charge of the room, it has been glowing for the past 10 years.

When Leo got the missive, he immediately dove into the book and searched like a man possessed for the ritual that would bring his godfather from the other side.

The _Ritual of Return_ was usually performed by the head of the court system during the dark ages or even before then when the Veil of Death was used to determine the . The ritual was actually quite simple; however, the necessity to memorize and draw the hundred or so runes was the clincher. Each rune must be powered equally and hold them corporeal until the end of the ritual while voicing the incantation. Once the runes are done and floating in the air, the final incantation was necessary to embed them on the archway to start the return.

According to the book, the longer the person stayed in the _Veil_, the more magical power was needed to bring them back. Considering that Padfoot had been inside for 10 years, the energy requirement would be immense.

Fortunately for Leo, the book contained a chart on how much magic was needed to create the runes according to how long a person stayed in the Veil. Freya immediate dove into medical texts and found a spell that would provide an exact number on how much magic a person has in their core. This was a necessity for healing to determine the right treatment for some ailments that requires a patient's magic to cure.

After consulting the chart and casting the necessary spells, Freya determined that Leo had enough magic in his system to pull the ritual off, with barely enough left for him to survive. The aftermath would put him in a healing coma for a week or so just to replenish his lost energy and no amount of potions would expedite the process.

This was the reason why Freya would be joining him in this mission to perform the _Ritual of Return_; once the ritual was done, she would act as the healer and make sure Leo's vitals didn't drop to dangerous levels.

Fawkes would be coming along as well. Once Sirius was out, the legendary avian would flame him out of the room and into one of the beds in the infirmary of the Den. He would then return for a second trip for Leo and Freya.

The Minister asked them why they needed to go back to Washington to heal since St. Mungo was readily available for their needs. Leo informed him that the masses were still putting him on a pedestal and if they found out that 'Harry Potter' was in St. Mungos, then it would spark a rumor mill that would take decades to die out.

Also, Leo reminded Minister Shacklebolt that Sirius was still a convict. If the people found about his miraculous return from the afterlife, they would just chuck him back into Azkaban again to await a trial. Leo didn't want to risk it since there was a possibility that his godfather's body would be so weak that the prison might kill him in a day or two.

When they reached the Veil Room, Kingsley immediately cleared the room out with a few commands. Fawkes immediately flew off from Leo's shoulder and perched on Freya's.

Leo squared his shoulder and walked closer to the veil.

His heart hammered when he saw the rune set glowing a faint blue on the right side of the arch. He knew that it was there but seeing it for the first time made him excited…excited to have his godfather back.

He looked around the room to make sure that no one was around before starting with the _Ritual of Return._

He released his leash over his core causing a burst of magic to flood the room. Not wasting any time, Leo started tracing the correct runes in the air and spoke the incantation he memorized by heart.

With the amount of magic he was releasing, the runes were glowing and arranging themselves in a tight circle in front of him and spinning like a clock, getting bigger as more runes are added into the fray. Leo's incantation increased to a roaring crescendo as he reached the apex of the ritual.

In a burst of power, Leo barked the final word of the incantation causing the release of all the pent-up magic accumulated during the ritual.

The floating runes immediately flew and embedded themselves in various areas of the archway causing the entire thing to glow. The amount of power being released made Leo's audience stagger and Freya had to erect a shield around her and the Minister to protect them from the onslaught.

They watched the archway holding the Veil lit up like a Christmas tree; and a loud, unearthly wail echoed in the Death Chamber origination from behind tattered cloth of the Veil of Death.

Everyone, except Leo who was finishing up the Ritual of Return with his eyes closed in concentrated, watched in amazement and awe as Sirius Black walked out of the veil as it parted. The ex-convict's expression was confused as he looked around as if he was seeing everything for the first time before setting his sights on his godson who was sweating profusely in front of him. He reached out with one hand and blurted one word before fainting followed closely by Leo as he finished the ritual.

"Harry?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Freya Black was a frantic mess when she saw both his brother and Sirius Black collapse before and after the ritual.

When the magic in the room died down and the archway holding the _Veil_ stopped glowing, she immediately pulled down her shield and rushed to the downed duo. She immediately started firing diagnostic charms by the dozens to make sure both were alright.

Sirius was relatively alright but requires a lot of rest and a slew of nutrient potions to get him back into shape. From the looks of it, his body was slowly deteriorating from the lack of nutrition though how he was still alive Freya couldn't tell, though she assumed that the _Veil_ held a time dilation function that she didn't know about. She made a mental note to read the book from Slytherin's collection to shed some light in the matter.

Leo, on the other hand, was in critical condition. He was fine physically but his magical core was drained. From the readings she got form the charms, his brother barely had a 16th of his total reserves and would require immediate treatment if he was to survive the ordeal.

Not wasting any time, she directed Fawkes to take Sirius to the infirmary at the Den before pulling out a healer's kit and the small bottle with _Pepper-Up Capsules_ inside. She pulled out two and administered them to her brother. She used a spell to force the comatose wizard to swallow.

Once that was done, she immediately checked his reserves and found it to be slightly better and slowly filling up, still low but no longer critical. She was about to tell Kingsley that they would be leaving but Fawkes beat her to it. The avian returned from her trip and immediately dropped down on Leo's chest before offering his tail feathers to the other passenger.

Freya immediately touched the offered appendage before being flamed out of the room leaving a worried Kingsley behind.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Freya appeared in the infirmary in a burst of flame. She immediately levitated her brother off the floor and floated her to the lone bed in the emergency wing of the _Wolf's Den_ while Fawkes simply flew off and landed on the foot of Leo's bed and looked at his master with a worried glint in his eyes.

Once her brother was fully settled on the bed, she went to the cabinet and rummaged around until she found the right potions and capsules they prepared beforehand for this situation.

She went back to her brother and had him slowly sit up on the bed and poured the potions and capsules down his throat before setting him back down to rest.

Job done, she cast a _Healer's Alarm_ on Leo to make sure that any changes in his condition would be reported to her before moving on to Sirius in the other room.

She finally had the chance to observe the infamous Sirius Black. He was dressed the same way when they saw him in the Department of Mysteries back in Fifth Year. The only difference was his tired look and malnourished state. She recast the _diagnostic charm_ she hit him earlier but took it slow two make sure she didn't miss anything.

The charms reported that Leo's godfather was malnourished, though in pretty good condition for a man held inside the Veil with no food or water to sustain him for ten years. She didn't see any abnormalities and the only thing she could do was to give him plenty of food, rest, and potions to speed up the healing process. It might also be a good idea to improve his musculature and bone density while she's at it so he wouldn't suffer any problem when she subjects him to a physical exercise regime considering there was slight atrophy to his muscles.

Sighing, she summoned a _Nutrient Capsule_ from the medicine cabinet and fed it to the sleeping man and cast a spell to help him swallow it considering he was in a deep sleep with no signs of waking up anytime soon.

Happy to be done with the initial treatment, she was about to get a bit of rest when the _Healer's Alarm _gave her silent nudge, alerting her that there was a change in her brother's condition.

Sighing, he finished up with Sirius and moved back to the emergency room.

It was going to be a long night.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Life in the Marauder's Den was a bit hectic since the removal of Sirius Black from the _Veil of Death_ in the Department of Mysteries.

Everyone in the know were quite worried of Leo; and by association, Sirius, since they knew how important he was considering the risk the young wizard put himself through just to save the man.

The elders and shifters visited daily, checking up on the lion animagus if there were any changes to his condition, which Freya reported that he was fine but under a healing coma while his magic replenishes itself.

Embry, on the other hand, wouldn't leave his imprint's side, much like what Leo did when the shifter was stuck in bed. The teen didn't go to school or worked in the garage but just sat there caressing the wizards face or playing with his hair as the shifter waited for his imprint to wake up from his coma.

Fortunately for him, the elders and shifter covered for him to make sure that he had a decent alibi just in case questions were asked.

* * *

**February 10, 2006**

Sirius woke up to a very comfortable bed though his body was a bit sore and he was having a hard time commanding his muscles to move. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in a room that looked like an infirmary, judging from the number of beds and the medical equipments, but the place was quite comfortable and homey unlike the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. If the infirmary at Hogwarts was like this then he wouldn't mind being subjected to Poppy's treatment while in school.

Heck, he and James resorted to escaping the place many times since the hospital wing was a dreary place to be and Pomfrey was a menace.

He groaned a bit as his muscle protested when he tried to get off the bed. He flopped back down and gathered his strength before trying again though a voice froze him in mid-action.

"I suggest you continue to lie down, Sirius. You're not fully healed yet."

Sirius turned to where the voice originated and found a young lady grinning at him. She was quite familiar, beautiful and with all the curves in the right places, but couldn't place her name.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want me to stay in bed and have your way with me." Sirius said with a saucy grin. Wherever he was, having a sexy lady playing nurse wasn't something to be ignored or passed up. He might be sick but he wasn't invalid. Padfoot of the Marauders was a sexy beast and never an invalid if a beautiful lady was around.

Said lady just rolled her eyes and gave Sirius a condescending look as she moved closer to his bed.

"Just a few days out of the _Veil_ and you're already flirting with the first woman you see. Really, Padfoot, don't you ever grow up?" asked the lady sarcastically.

Now this brought him up short. Not only was this beautiful woman taking care of him from the goodness of her heart, she also knew him quite well since she knew the name of his animal form.

"You seem to know me very well, Ms…?" Sirius asked neutrally. The lady nurse just gave him an understanding look before a thoughtful frown marred her beautiful face.

"I guess short-term memory loss or amnesia could be a symptom to what happened to you." the lady mused. "Or you just didn't recognize me considering that it's been what? Ten years? Maybe you're just getting senile, Snuffles."

That brought Sirius up short. Only a few people called him Snuffles. He looked at the lady closer and finally recognized the voice. She was older, more sure of herself and mature. There was something in her eyes that spoke of sadness and loss along with the indomitable will to move on and face life's challenges without breaking down. But despite the change, she was definitely the same person who rescued him from being subjected to the Dementor's Kiss.

"Hermione?" Sirius asked incredulously.

Freya just gave him an amused look before moving closer to his bed.

"Actually, it's Freya now Sirius. But yes, I am Hermione Granger and now Freya Black since me and Harry started a new life here in Washington, America. Oh, Harry is now Leo Black if you're curious." Freya explained to her patient as she started casting _diagnostic spells_ on the Marauder-turned-convict.

"Wow!" Sirius exclaimed in amazement. "You definitely grew up, Her…er…Freya."

"It's been ten years, Sirius." said Freya as she nodded to herself when she got a clear reading from her spells. "It seems that only you didn't grow up while everyone else did from what I'm seeing."

Sirius grew indignant at that statement, though he could never deny the fact that it was somewhat true. Sirius Black was always a child at heart and nothing would change that if he could help it.

"Well, you grew up quite nicely if I do say so myself." He said with a leer. That statement rewarded him a _stinging hex_ on his 'Little Padfoot' which caused him to yelp in pain followed by a groan.

"Behave." Freya said sternly though the side of her lips was twitching, trying to fight off a grin. "You never change, Sirius. But you're lovable that way. How are you feeling?"

Sirius leveled Frey a mock glare, though his lips was twitching as well, fighting a laugh from leaving his mouth.

"I feel great though a bit sore. I feel weak for some reason and my muscles won't follow my orders. Oh, I'm also very hungry." Sirius reported before his stomach grumbled as if agreeing with the last statement causing Freya to grin at him. "Other than that, I'm totally fine."

Freya nodded and told him to wait while she grabbed some of the food Sue made and placed stasis for her two patients. She _apparated_ to the kitchen and returned in less than a minute much to the shock of the old Marauder though said Marauder looked greedily at the steaming hot lunch plate Freya brought for him. She conjured a small lap table wandlessly to the surprise of the old dog and placed the food there before commanding him to eat his fill. If he wanted more then all he needed to do was ask so she could get another plate for him.

While Sirius was eating, she explained everything that happened while he was stuck in the Veil – their adventures, the battle at Hogwarts and the fall of Voldemort, their studies and the restoration of the school using the money in the Lestrange Vault that Leo inherited being Lord Black, their apprentice under the Flamels, their move here in La Push to start a new life, their adventures with the shifters, and finally the discovery of the book that led to his freedom from the _Veil_ in the Department of Mysteries.

"I see." said Sirius in a subdued voice, eyes watering at the emotions he was feeling being the last Marauder in the world. "So Remus is gone huh? I'm the last Marauder alive."

Freya saw the tears leaking out of the last of the Marauder's face and couldn't help but comfort him. She stood up from her chair and gave the old dog a hug which caused the dam to break and Sirius to pour out all his sadness and grief for the lost of his friend.

It was a few minutes later that Sirius was able to gain a semblance of control over his emotions and looked at Freya with a grateful smile on his face thought he sadness he felt for the death of his friend was evident in his façade.

"Thank, Freya." Sirius sadly but there was a small smile on his face that the Enchantress couldn't help but return.

"No problem, Sirius. We're family now and it's only right that we comfort each other in times of grief." answered Freya in a comforting tone.

Sirius nodded and looked around, noticing something for the first time since his awakening.

"Where's Harry…er…Leo?" asked Sirius, trying to get used to using his godson's new name.

"He's in the emergency room," replied Freya while banishing the plate and table from Sirius' bed and pointed to a door on the other side of the room. "It's that room over there."

"Is he alright?" Sirius asked worriedly. Freya nodded and gave him a smile of assurance.

"He's alright. No lasting damage. He just drained his magical core and needed to replenish it normally. He's in a healing coma right now and his vitals are recovering. Embry is watching over him." she explained.

"Embry?" asked Sirius before recognizing the name from Freya's storytelling. "He's the shifter that imprinted on Leo right?"

Freya nodded.

"Yes. He hasn't left Leo side ever since he came in. I guess the bond between the two of them is so deep that nothing else matters. Leo was the same way when Embry was stuck in bed with a high-fever when he was close to phasing for the first time." she explained with a gentle smile on her face. His surrogate brother was so lucky to find such a devoted lover.

Sirius nodded and relaxed on his bed as he digested everything that happened since he entered the _Veil_.

"So what now?" he asked, wanting to know when he was getting out of bed and wanted to know what Freya and his godson had in store for him. He knew that they would want him to stay and he had every intention of doing just that. He had no more life in Britain and didn't want to go back ever again.

"First, you need to get your strength back. You're magically and physically alright but you need to heal some more if you want to be back to your old self again after we rescued you from the Dementors back in Third year. You need to eat a lot plus nutrient potion to expedite your healing. Once that's done, we are going to Gringotts to finalize your new identity here in America since I'm quite sure you wouldn't want to go back to Britain anytime soon."

Sirius nodded vigorously.

"Have you chosen a new name for me yet? From what I gathered since you and Leo changed your name when you moved, I guess you wanted me to do the same?" He asked with a goofy grin on his face.

Freya nodded and smiled at Sirius expression.

"We haven't come up with new for you but I think you can do so without our help."

Sirius nodded and thought for a bit. No matter how much he hated being a Black, he couldn't deny the fact that he liked being named after a constellation. He might be starting a new in America but it was nice to stick to tradition. He finally decided on a name and looked at Freya in the eyes.

"Canis." said Sirius with determination on his face. "From this day forth, I'll be known as Canis Black."

* * *

**February 12, 2006**

It took two more days for Canis, formerly Sirius Black, to fully heal back to his old self though he admitted that he felt better than ever thanks to Freya's professional care. Eating three major meals a day, walks on the beautiful grounds of Marauder's Den, relaxing at the private beach, and being with people who cared for him made him better than before.

He met the Quilleute elders and they welcomed him to the fold. He also met the shifters and liked the concern they were showing his godson and his surrogate sister. He cringed a bit though when he saw their animal forms for the first time couldn't help but compared their sizes with Padfoot. They were big, bigger than his grim-like dog and their strength and speed was extraordinary.

Canis knew that these 'protectors' were built to handle vampires judging from Freya's stories but seeing them for the first time was a bit unnerving for him.

He also got to know Embry considering they were seeing each other every day in the _Wolf's Den_. He found the teen to be after his own heart and he could see the love in the shifter's eyes as he looked at his comatose godson. He was a bit confused as to why Leo fell in love with a male but he wouldn't change anything of his godson if he could help it.

The highlight of his two day stay in the Wolf's Den was when he saw Leah Clearwater for the first time. He met her when he was taking walks on the grounds while Leah was visiting Freya to borrow some books to read.

For him, Leah was a goddess and couldn't deny the fact that his very own magic and soul called out to her. If he was to relate it to what happened between Leo and Embry, then he might no longer be a bachelor soon and the persona of Canis Black would be complete. They talked for a bit and Canis found her to be a great girl though he could see an underlying hurt and resentment she was hiding behind her beautiful eyes. How he ached to help her but it was too early to butt in on her personal life.

Besides, it was time for Sirius…er…Canis Black to have a future of his own. It's not good to be left behind by his godson and his surrogate sister. He was a Marauder after all and a Marauder stays ahead in things like this.

He did vow to get to know Leah better and mercilessly prank the person who did it to her. Canis knew that he was vindictive but he couldn't care less. Someone hurt his goddess and they were going to pay…dearly if he got anything to say about it.

When Freya deemed Canis to be of excellent health, she took him to Merlin's Street in Seattle to finalize his new identity at Gringotts.

He met Liverwhacker and signed the documents cementing his new identity and citizenship. He could have taken back the lordship and ownership of the Black Family Trust but he never wanted it in the first place. From what he got from Freya, Leo was doing a good job in putting it to good use so he left it as it is; though he did request for a Gringotts Card and a bottomless wallet for his personal use which the goblin readily agreed.

After Gringotts, their next stop was to get him a new wand if he wanted to do magic again. Besides, he vowed to help Leo and Freya in their role in protecting their new home and family so he needed his old skills back and acquire new ones along the way.

Unlike Ollivander, the owner of the shop was a cheerful man who crafts personalized wands instead of making them in bulk like those in Wizarding Britain.

It was two hours later that he was the proud owner of a fifteen inch wand made of Oak with a hair of a rather vicious Sasquatch as core. Canis marveled at the power of his new wand and couldn't deny the fact that it was better than his old one.

When that was done, Freya took him to the clothing shop and told him to get as much clothes as he needed while she visited another store to buy him a mobile phone since the American magical community seldom used _floo_ and owls for communication. He agreed but told her to teach him later since he was pants in anything muggle.

After two hours of fitting and an arrangement to have the clothes delivered to the Den tonight, Canis walked out of the shop in his new muggle outfit and met with Freya for a bite of lunch in a local restaurant. They talked for a bit and the subject of getting a vehicle came up since Canis would require muggle transportation.

Canis said no since Leo was kind enough to fix his motorcycle and would be enchanting it the same way before Freya removed the spells and charms he placed on it.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The day after shopping for his supplies was a painful experience for Canis. Considering that he was out of touch with his magic, Freya subjected him to dueling practice to improve his connection with his magical core. He was having problems controlling his magic but Freya was patient with her instructions until he found a semblance of control. It wasn't perfect but it was good enough and he would improve steadily from there.

Canis also decided to continue his magical education as Leo and Freya did. Making use of the library in the Attic, he decided to reacquaint himself with the Hogwarts curriculum and branch out from there.

* * *

**End of Chapter 17**

**Please Review.**


	18. In the Eyes of the Beholder

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 18: In the Eye of the Beholder**

* * *

**February 15, 2006**

Leo woke up to someone snuggling to his side and that certain someone was quite warm. A small smile made its way to his face as he opened his eyes and tilted his head to the side to see black hair attached to a slumbering Embry who seemed to have a tight hold on his chest.

Sighing at the pleasant sensation of having the love-of-his-life so close to him, he shifted his body sideways and wrapped his mate in a tight hug and placed his head over the teen's hair and took a good whiff. He really liked Embry's scent – there was a woodsy smell to it, like waking up early morning surrounded by nature. It was relaxing.

He felt his mate snuggle closer to his body before looking down to see warm chocolate brown eyes looking at him in concern and relief, though there was something there that made the lion animagus cringe.

"Good morning." said Leo with a smile before pulling the young teen to him and giving him a heartfelt kiss, which was enthusiastically returned. Considering that they were human, the lovers reluctantly ended their kiss and stared at each other's eyes.

"Good morning, Leo." said Embry with a smile before moving himself until he was finally on top of the wizard. The teen looked down at him with a furious expression on his face that made Leo gulp in fear.

"Don't you EVER do that again." hissed Embry. "You don't know what it feels like to visit your lover only to find him lying down in a bed inside an emergency room. I was so worried."

Leo coughed a bit.

"Well…I didn't watch over you when you were sleeping for days due to fever." Leo said cheekily. He saw that Embry was about to go into another tirade so he decided to do something as a way of apology.

Leo didn't say anything but pulled Embry closer to him and met his lips with his own. The lion animagus kissed the teen with everything he had and broadcasted his apology through it. Embry was hesitant to return the kiss after being caught off guard but eventually gave in and groaning in satisfaction to being dominated by his imprint.

The two shared some time enjoying each other's taste with hands roaming each other's body, drinking in the closeness that they shared. They were having a good time until Fate decided to intervene.

"Ahem!"

Both froze in mid-action, lips still locked together when they heard the pretend cough. Sighing, Leo took his lips off his mate's and looked at the door to see his surrogate sister looking at him with a questioning look on her face though he could see the amused glint in her eyes at having caught them in action.

"Good morning to you too, sis." said Leo with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. He could feel Embry burrow his face into his shoulder in embarrassment. He chuckled and relaxed on the bed while hugging the clearly blushing teen closer to him.

Freya rolled her eyes and approached the duo. She poked Embry on the kidney causing the young shifter to yelp in surprise. However, this had the consequence of putting pressure on 'Little Leo' causing 'Big Leo' to moan – though in pain and pleasure, they couldn't tell.

"Sorry, Freya." Embry said sheepishly. Said girl just patted him on the cheek and gave him a smile.

"No problem, dear. I know how it feels to see someone you love stuck in a hospital." Freya said a smile before leveling Leo, who was sporting a goofy grin on his face, with a condescending look. "I've seen this idiot so many times in the hospital wing that I'm already used to it. One thing you should know about your imprint…he never stays down too long. He faced possessed teachers, large poisonous magical snakes that can swallow you whole, soul-sucking demons, dragons, swimming in a cold lake in the middle of winter, and various other beasties, not to mention the Dark Lord himself. They always land him in the hospital wing and he ends up escaping Madam Pomfrey the next day."

Embry nodded and was about to say something when he felt something growing poking his bum. He moved it around a bit and heard a groan coming from his mate. A mischievous grin slowly made its way into his face and started to vigorously move his hips around. Said groaning was increasing in intensity until Freya finally had enough and hit the two with a _stinging hex_, causing both Embry and Leo to yelp out loud and jumping off the bed, landing on the floor in a heap.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So what's the verdict, sis?" asked Leo as he munched on his sixth Club House sandwich. It seemed that being drained of your magical core almost to the last drop and having to sleep it off could do wonders to one's appetite. Embry was sitting beside him munching on his own though the shifter was on his tenth, compared to his sixth.

"You're magical core is all filled up to the brim. No side-effects from the ritual. You're a healthy boy with the libido of a horse." This got her a cheeky grin from the wizard and a rather large blush from the shifter who reacted strongly at the horse comment. "The only difference right now is the size of your core."

"Size?" Leo asked in confusion before eating what's left of his sandwich in a single bite. Freya nodded in affirmative.

"You do know that you practically drained your core to a critical level with the ritual right?" she asked.

"Yeah so?" he replied, confusion still etched on his face.

"I don't know what happened and it's a medical impossibility to happen to such a degree but your magical core just grew by 50%."

"What?" exclaimed Leo, shocked. His magical core grew? How the heck did that happen?

"To be honest, I expected it to grow, maybe 1 to 2 percent at most but I didn't expect it to expand to half its original size. Right now, you're way more powerful than both Voldemort and Dumbledore combined." explained Freya with a bit of awe in her voice. Leo groaned.

"Great." He said sarcastically. "Add another to the list that would put me on a pedestal."

Embry patted his imprint on the back and gave him a kiss on the cheek causing the irate animagus to relax.

"Don't be so overdramatic, Leo. We all know for a fact that draining one's core to critical level is going to have its own set of repercussions. You're lucky that it didn't turn you into a squib though I doubt that would be the case considering your luck." This got her a glare from her surrogate brother but she ignored it. "I suggest that you spend a couple of days getting control of it. I think you're control is shot so you need to focus on your magic it if you don't want to overpower your spells."

"Speaking of which, what day is it anyway?" asked Leo as he relaxed when his mate snuggled to his side.

"15th of February. You were in a healing coma for a week." answered Freya as she wrote something on her clipboard before banishing it to her desk.

"Wow." he exclaimed before looking at Embry wistfully. "I guess I missed Valentine's Day, huh?"

"Yes you did." Embry agreed with a smile. "But I don't care. As long as you're okay, that's more important."

Leo smiled and gave his lover a peck on the lips.

"Well, that won't cut it with me. Why don't we go to Seattle this weekend and have some fun. We can go have a date in a restaurant and maybe watch a movie or two. What do you say?" asked Leo, excited at spending some quality time with his mate. Embry nodded with a shy smile. "Great! It's a date then."

"Well, aside from you're core, you're good to go, Leo." said Freya while giving the two a smile. Leo nodded before realizing something.

"Where's Sirius? Is he okay?" Leo asked, looking around. Freya nodded.

"Yeah, he is. He woke up 3 days after we got him back from the _Veil_. He spent another two days healing some slight muscle problems but he's alright now. I took him to Merlin's Street to shop for a wand and some supplies. Oh, his name is Canis Black now." she answered.

"Canis…" mused Leo, playing with the name in his mind. "I guess he planned to stick to the Black Family tradition in following the names of the constellations. Did you get him kitted out in Gringotts?"

"Yes. He got a card and a wallet. He wasn't interested in taking back the headship of the Black Family. He said that you're doing good job at it than he ever could so you can keep it." explained Freya with a grin on her face.

"Glad to hear that he's okay now. Where is the old dog anyway? Up to his mischief already?" asked Leo, expecting to be turned green or pink by his godfather.

"Nah." Freya disagreed. "I sent him to La Push to pick up groceries. We haven't restocked the fridge since you went into a coma and we only have the basics available. He is thankful for the bike, by the way."

"No problem." Leo said dismissively. "So I take it he didn't want to buy a car like us?"

Freya shook her head in negative.

"Nope. He said that the bike is good enough for him." she answered her surrogate brother.

"He did always like to live adventurously. Anyway, what do I do now?" asked Leo, wanting to get up and about and check out his new core.

"Nothing. You're free to go." answered Freya.

Leo nodded, stood up from his bed and stretched. He sighed when he heard a few pops from his spine. He tugged on Embry with a grin and dashed out of the room towards the Den.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Canis walked into the door of a grocery store for the first time. Unlike wizarding stores, this one was big, with rows upon rows of food stuff for you to pick up, put it in a cart or a basket, pick another one until your done before paying for it in the counter up front.

He couldn't help but be amazed at how muggles could live without magic, and from the looks of it, they didn't need magic at all. They were doing great on their own.

He was planning to lounge around in the Den or spend some quality time in their private beach but Freya had other plans. He was unceremoniously shooed out of the Den and commanded to go to La Push to pick up some groceries. After handing him a rather long list, she gave him directions and pointed imperiously towards the garage where his bike was stored. Sighing, he left the Den and dragged his bike out of the garage before revving down the road towards the town.

Thankfully, the rows of food were clearly marked and Freya was intuitive enough to write down which sections contained the items she wanted to be bought for the Den. Of course, most of it was for the fridge in the kitchen but he did make a few concessions and picked out some muggle snacks and drinks he was curious to try after seeing them on the telly.

When he got the last row where the meat was found, he stopped when he heard a voice that made his heart beat faster. He immediately hid in a small corner away from view and strained his ears to listen.

"Why are you here, Sam?" asked Leah in a cold tone.

"Why should I not be here, Leah? I'm just buying something for Emily." answered Sam, voice neutral.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for barging into your presence then. Mustn't keep Emily waiting after all." came Leah's sarcastic reply.

"Do we always have to fight like this, Leah?" said Sam in a defeated voice.

"That is a question you shouldn't be asking me, Sam. After all, you were the one who made the decision, not me." Leah bitingly replied, anger clearly etched on her voice.

"Come on, Leah. Be reasonable. There are some things beyond my control?"

Canis winced. That was the wrong thing to say. He didn't know what they were talking about, though he had an idea when he heard Leah mentioned Emily. He knew that Leah had a temper on her, he liked it but he didn't want to be on the other end when it came out, and it was about to directed at the alpha wolf of the Quilleute wolf pack.

"Control?" Leah voice raised a few octaves and Canis could feel the venom from the girl. "_You_ chose her over me, Sam. _You_ chose someone who you just met for a day over someone you've been with for your whole life. _You_ chose her over me and everything we've been through was nothing! We were about to make something of our life but _you_ chose to disappear and end up with HER and she's my cousin."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Leah." Sam replied, though Canis could hear the defensiveness in his voice.

"You know what? I don't care. I'm happy with my life right now. I don't need you or anyone for that matter." groused Leah before stamping off to the front of the store.

"Leah, wait." Sam called out, following the irate goddess.

Canis walked out of the corner he was hiding and looked at the two people whose conversation he justheard with amazing clarity. Now he had an idea what made Leah that way. From the looks of it, Sam dumped Leah after years of being in a relationship together for Leah's cousin who he only met for a day.

Canis wasn't stupid, far from it. Considering the information he heard from Freya, Sam was showing the classic case of _imprinting_. If that was the case then Sam imprinted on Emily when he saw her for the first time. He was forced to dump Leah to go with his one-true-love.

His heart reached out to the girl he was slowly falling head over heels for. He wanted to help, to comfort her, to be there for her; but the time wasn't right. He would wait. He might be known for being impatient and impulsive; but this time around, Canis Black would wait for the perfect moment to strike.

Besides, he needed a bit of time to plan something for the alpha wolf. He imprinted and was out of his control but he could've eased Leah with his choice instead of just dumping it on her at once.

Oh no, he had to give Sam something that would be memorable, something that only a Marauder could give. An evil grin slowly formed on his face which scared the girl ringing up his purchase.

The girl pitied the person that caused the evil grin appear.

-x-x-x-x-x-

A lone boy was sitting on the sand in Third Beach, staring out at the waves as he pondered on his thoughts. His mind was whirling, and for a teenager, that was quite normal.

However, his thoughts revolved around a certain girl he met a few months back.

A girl that was too old for him.

A girl that was out of his reach; and to his teenage mind, he was unworthy for her.

Despite the fact at how he convinced himself that he wasn't worthy for this girl, there was an urge inside him that wanted to be with this girl for the rest of his life.

She was beautiful. She was smart. She was everything that a guy could dream off.

He was in love, or was he? He didn't know because there was nothing for him to compare it to.

He didn't know about love; heck, he was a teenager for crying out loud. Love was supposed to be for adults and he clearly wasn't one.

He thought that it may be a crush but he had crushed before since there were plenty of beautiful girls at school, though not as beautiful as the 'girl'. No, those were just crushes and the feelings he had for this girl was something else, something serious, and something that needed to be defined more.

He was confused. He didn't know what he would do.

He sighed as he looked at the surf, the face of the girl occupying all of his thoughts.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Andromeda Tonks was busy packing the last of her clothes inside her trunk for the trip to her new home. She looked around the room and couldn't help but miss the time she spent in this very room with her beloved Ted. He died during the Second Wizarding War, killed by Death Eaters…the same fate that her only daughter suffered during the Battle at Hogwarts.

She walked over to her bed and looked down at the innocently sleeping figure of her grandson, Teddy. He was really a joy to have and had saved her from her bouts of depression. The kid was a handful; but there was an aura around him that you couldn't help but endear yourself to him.

She sat beside the sleeping child and pushed a stray hair off his angelic face. They were going to a new home next week after everything was arranged for her house to be sold off. There were too many memories associated with this house and she wouldn't dare keep it and hope to stay sane. She was sad that she was letting go of her life but she needed to move on. She needed to find something that would help her from her loneliness.

Maybe her new home would help. Maybe La Push was the answer to her question.

She sighed before pulling out the mobile phone that Leo gave her and dialed Teddy's godfather to inform him that they were ready.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Billy Black was in his office in the _Wolf's Claw_ looking at the large window showing the interior of the garage. His son, Jacob, was happily tinkering away on his Rabbit with a large smile on his face. The Quilleute Elder couldn't help but smile at the youthful vigor of his son as he tackled his project. No matter how many customers they had or how many work needs to be done, Jacob always found time to finish his project.

His face, however, turned to a frown when he noticed the changes in his son for the past few weeks. Like Embry, Jacob was growing fast. From 5'10, he was now at least 6'1 and the elder Black knew that he still had some growing to do since his heritage demanded no less.

His thoughts also flowed to Charlie's daughter Bella and her association with his son. Ever since Edward Cullen left Forks, the girl was a mess and he was thankful for the intervention of the pack, as well as the English Blacks in finding the girl in the woods before she dies from the cold.

Now, Bella was hanging out with Jacob and couldn't help but be proud of his son for bring her out of her depression. He knew that Jacob has crush on the girl and there was a possibility that the girl would return it though he didn't get his hopes up since Bella loved the Cullen more than his son.

In his eyes, this would be a one-sided relationship with Jacob would be on the losing end, more so if the Cullens do return and re-ignite their association with Bella Swan.

For now, he was content in just observing their association with each other and ready to step in just in case.

However, that fragile bond they shared would end soon anyway when Jacob needs to stay away from her as he prepares himself to shift into his heritage. He already informed Freya and Leo of this and they were already prepping up the infirmary the same way they did with Embry, though he chuckled a bit when he remembered that event.

It was the most fun he had in years, if you could call seeing a very large lion kicking the wolves around because it was protecting its mate. He stifled a laugh when he remembered Sam's bandaged form after that debacle.

Sighing, he decided to come up with an alibi to tell Bella when Jacob disappears from the radar. He thought of 'Mono' but that was too disgusting to contemplate and he didn't want his son to scare off the girls that would find him attractive enough to date, though there wouldn't be a shortage of that.

He was a Black after all and Blacks were always the best for the ladies.

Maybe he could use Chicken Pox as an alibi…hmmmm.

* * *

**End of Chapter 18**

**Please Review**


	19. Black Family Complete

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight**

* * *

**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 19: Black Family Complete**

* * *

**March 4, 2006**

**2:20PM**

Leo deftly dodged a _stunner_ from Canis' wand before holding out his hand, palm forward, and threw a fireball towards his opponent which was easily countered by a large fountain of water. Sensing a spell behind him, he dropped to the ground at the last minute as a blue bolt of light missed his head by mere inches.

The dance of spell fire continued for 10 more minutes before he was able to land a _stunner_ on Canis which ended his participation in the 2-on-1 duel. He kept dodging as Freya starting her specialized rapid spell fire; the speed of the spells coming at him only left him with an option to dodge. His only saving grace was his quickness he got from his animagus form but Freya's own animal instincts improved her aim so he was kept on his toes.

They had been dueling for more than a week now to keep themselves in shape. Even if it was peace time, neither of the Battle Scholars and Canis wanted to be weak when a fight presented itself, which were quite possible considering vampires tend to knock on their doorsteps on a daily basis.

The fight ended when Leo saw his chance for a counterattack. While he was dodging, he wandlessly froze the floor his surrogate sister was standing on causing her to lose her balance. The pause of rapid spell fire allowed the wizard to hit her with a _stunner_ before she could recuperate.

Considering that both of his opponents were down for the count, he took a moment to relax and catch his breath. A few minutes later, he revived his two opponents and gave them a grin.

"What's the count?" asked Leo as he conjured a towel and wiped the sweat off his face.

"20 wins and 3 loses now, pup." replied Canis ruefully as he pushed himself off the floor before conjuring a towel for his own use. He and Freya were able to win thrice in their seven duels. His godson improved during those times and was able to go toe to toe with them during their daily spars after that.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that both of you need to shape up." said Leo with a grin. Freya growled and launched a stinging hex at him which he easily dodged. "Now now, sis. Don't be a sore loser."

Freya just gave him a mock glare and huffed before giving him a smile. Even if she barely won against Leo, it was very good training for her. She was getting better but she tend to fall back on her speed casting than strategy, the latter of which Leo excels at in spades. Canis, however, specializes in distraction which allowed them to win the earlier duels.

"So what are we going to do today? It's a bit early still." said Canis as he summoned a Butterbeer from a charmed ice box in the corner. Seeing Leo eyeing said beverage, he summoned another and floated it to his godson.

Leo gave his godfather a nod of thanks before grabbing the bottle when if floated within reach. A simple wandless _banishing charm_ took care of the cap. He took a long drink before answering.

"I still have to confirm it with Sam if he wanted me to patrol with the pack. There's one vampire who's been running around Forks lately and it's wandering around the Bella's neighborhood for quite some time now. From the looks of it, the vampire is looking for something." explained Leo before finishing off the last of his Butterbeer.

Freya sharply turned to her brother.

"When did this happen?" she asked immediately. She might not like Bella that much but she didn't want her dead, especially Charlie who she really liked.

"Been a week now. Em had been monitoring the map when he's off patrol duty and he kept seeing a vampire using the same route. We are quite sure it's the same one. This past couple of day, the vampire has been going near the Treaty Line, but not near enough to sound the alarm. It looks like he or she is waiting for something and Em has this sneaky suspicion that the guy is waiting for Bella to come out from where she's hiding. Sam and the rest of the shifters agree with him." He explained to his sister with a grim expression on his face.

"That's not good. Where is Bella right now?" she asked. Leo went into a thoughtful expression before answering.

"I'm not really sure. She's been bugging Billy for a while now ever since we stuck Jacob on the bed under a _sleeping charm_ to monitor his vitals. He just phased a couple of days ago but still not seeing Bella and I think she's making a conscious effort to drive Billy mad until he gives in." Leo said with a grin.

Jacob phased a week ago and started freaking out. Thankfully, the shifters were there, as well as his best friend, Embry, to explain everything. The teen, however, was shocked and awed when he learned of the magical world, especially Leo and Freya who was wizard and a witch respectively. Right now, Jacob was now in the know and Leo couldn't be happier. Only three more to go and the family would be complete.

The annoying part was Jacob wanting to go to Bella and explain everything to her since his rationale was if Bella could take the idea of vampires, Native Americans turning into large wolves was a piece of cake. He was only stopped when Sam gave out an alpha order or an _indiction_ which stayed his action though Leo had a sneaky suspicion that Jacob would find a way to let Bella in on the secret. He just hoped that Jacob wouldn't tell the girl about magic or there would be a lot of _Obliviates_ flying around.

"I can't believe Billy's alibi for throwing Bella off." said Canis in between bouts of laughter. "Would you believe he told Bella that Jacob was suffering from Chicken Pox?"

Leo and Freya looked at him as if he grew a second head.

"Chicken Pox? Couldn't he come up with something more believable or realistic for that matter? Everyone knows that Chicken Pox for adults isn't really that dangerous." said Leo in disbelief.

"I don't know what he's smoking but I think Billy needs to get laid." said Freya with a sniff. This time, Canis and Leo was looking at her in disbelief. She defended herself. "What? That's true. Men grow senile if they don't get laid too often and Billy's way overdue."

Leo just shook his head.

"Sometimes you're crazy, sis." Leo commented in an absolutely straight face.

"Sometimes?" Canis deadpanned earning him a pillow to the face.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"_Can't we just kill the leech already?"_ came Paul's whine through the mental connection they all shared.

Leo and the shifters got a message from Embry that their errant stalker vampire was at it again; this time, he was deep in the forest of Forks. This wouldn't have been a problem since the vampire was miles away from La Push border. However, the presence of a white dot a few kilometers away from the vampire was their concern.

Everyone was mobilized except for Canis and Freya, the latter promised to watch the map and keep them updated for any changes. Canis would be their emergency back up just in case.

When they got there, they saw a beautiful meadow with Bella standing in the middle of it and Jacob was mentally cursing her presence so deep in the woods. From the looks of her face, she was down memory lane.

Considering that she was alone, the wolves and Leo decided to stay out of sight and kept a close watch on her. It was a few minutes later when Freya's voice entered the pack's mental connection and informed everyone in the group that the vampire was just outside the clearing to the north. Leo immediately shifted back and started casting a charm to remove their scent to avoid alerting the vampire to their presence.

They were now waiting for the vampire to make his move though they didn't have to wait long because their prey just entered the clearing and started talking to Bella. This steadied their hand a bit since it was possible that the vampire was part of the Cullens and they didn't want to break the treaty. If he makes a wrong move then they'll attack.

"_Stop that, Paul."_ Sam mentally barked to the whining wolf_. "Bella seems to know him and we wouldn't want to break the treaty because you wanted to kill every single vampire you come across."_

"_Sam's right, Paul."_ Leo agreed with the alpha wolf. _"Besides, if he does try something then it's open season."_

When Leo said that, Paul calmed down but they could read his thoughts clearly since he was praying for the vampire to attack. Seeing the potential problem this would have caused, Leo immediately shot Jacob with a _silencing charm_, which was a good idea too, since the newly-shifted teen found Paul's dismissal of Bella's safety irksome.

Everyone tensed, however, when they saw the vampire lean close to Bella's neck, as if intending to bite her. This was the signal needed to get the ball rolling.

"_Everyone attack."_ barked Sam causing the wolves to jump out from their hiding spot which startled the vampire and Bella, both were looking at intimidating sight with different emotions on their faces - Bella of awe and disbelief, while the vampire was displaying his fear for everyone to see.

Leo didn't bother to change into Griever since he wanted to keep his secret a bit longer and didn't trust Bella to keep it as one. He _apparated_ to one of the higher branches up in a tree and scoped the clearing and the surrounding areas. He needed the added height to keep the vampire and the wolves in line of sights just in case.

The vampire sprinted out of the clearing, leaving Bella alone, when the wolves appeared from the foliage. Seeing their prey escaping, the shifters started barking and sped off, matching the vampire speed for speed. Leo saw the vampire's retreating figure and started _apparating_ from branch to branch, easily catching up to their prey.

Leo saw a clearing up ahead in which the vampire was heading so he _apparated_ again putting him in front of the vampire and immediately shifted to Griever. The vampire was so shocked by the appearance of a very large lion that he didn't notice Griever's paw swat him backwards like a fly. The wolves saw the opportunity of their incoming prey that they all jumped and hacked the vampire to piece with their teeth and claws. The battle was over as quickly as it started.

Leo shifted back to his human form and summoned all the vampire's parts and set them on fire, filling the surrounding area with a sweet scent that made the shifter sneeze. He walked over to his mate and ran a loving hand over Embry's gray fur. Embry didn't say anything but rumbled in contentment.

"_That was…disappointing."_ Leo commented through their mental connection.

"_It was."_ Jared agreed as he licked his muzzle as if licking away the imaginary blood from the vampire. _"I was expecting he would put up more of a fight than that."_

"_It's not every day you see a 7-foot tall lion standing in your way so I guess he was caught off guard."_ said Paul in happiness. Killing a vampire always made him happy.

"_So this is what you guys do every day?"_ asked Jacob who was still in an adrenalin rush from killing the vampire.

"_Well, we patrol everyday but we seldom encounter vampires. Around twice a month or so if we're lucky but no more than one or two at a time."_ admitted Sam as he sniffed the air for potential vampires lurking in the woods.

Their mental conversation was interrupted when Freya's voice came in.

"_I saw the vampire wink out of existence on the map. Is everything alright on your end?"_ asked Freya to the group.

"_Everything is taken care of, sis." _reported Leo as he made himself comfortable on Embry's fur. _"Any more vampires in the area?"_

"_No. That was the only one. So did you get an ID on who the vampire was before you killed him?"_ Freya asked her brother.

"_Nope. We did observe his conversation with Bella and it seems that she knew him. We attacked when he tried to bite Bella."_ Leo answered.

There was a tense silence before Freya's voice came back in.

"_Good. Then why don't you guys return to the Den."_ Freya suggested. _"Oh, Bella's still in the clearing where you left her."_

Jacob didn't say anything but bounded off to check on his crush.

Leo just rolled his eyes and jumped up on Embry's back before casting an invisibility charm on himself to keep himself hidden. Embry checked with his imprint to make sure that he was safely seated on his back before joining the rest of the group going after their love-struck brother.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo and the shifters returned to the Den with no problem though there was a small mental battle between Sam and Jacob due to Bella's presence. Jacob was adamant to get Bella home safely but that would risk discovery. A non-Quilleute already knew their existence and their identity would be compromised if they lingered.

Also, Leo informed the group that Bella's mind had a unique protection that would make it hard or impossible to remove her memories of the event. This made keeping their secrets harder from the girl.

Finally, they all decided that it was better for Jacob to see to Bella home but only halfway. Jacob would take the path closest to Charlie's house and leave her there before returning to the Den. The russet-furred wolf immediately bounded off to help his crush get home while the rest took a leisurely time returning to their home.

It was two days later that they had a slight problem. Bella reported to her dad that there were huge wolves in the forest which she discovered while she was hiking in the woods. There was an upside and a downside to this revelation.

Upside, Bella was grounded and the size of wolves she saw scared her enough that she stayed out of the woods entirely. This made the magical and the pack sigh in relief since Bella, like Leo, was a trouble magnet though in her case, she attracts vampires and supernatural beings like bees to honey.

Downside, Billy got a call from Charlie informing him that there were huge wolves in the forest and he started a hunt with the police officers and some of the civilians to contain them.

Thanks to the forewarning, the shifters laid low for a week using the map to check for vampires. This allowed everyone to catch up with their lives; like Sam spending some quality time with Emily, Leo going out on dates with Embry, Jared and Paul to catch up on their work schedule which Emily was adamant that they finish, and of course, Canis hanging out with Leah since the latter seemed to like him.

* * *

**March 7, 2006**

**9:34AM**

Leo was in the foyer pacing while waiting for Andy to arrive from England. He got a call from her last night telling him that she received his _portkey_ via Fawkes and was coming this morning. Canis and Freya were staring at him in amusement since they knew that Leo was fairly excited at having to see his godson again.

It was 10 minutes later that Andy appeared in the foyer carrying a sleeping Teddy on her arms. It was a good idea to sedate him since children weren't supposed to use _international portkeys_ due to the tiring voyage.

"Andy!" shouted Leo before grabbing the woman in a hug, though he was being careful not to wake the sleeping Teddy who was snoring lightly, clearly sleeping deeply.

"Hi, Leo. Thank you for providing me with the _portkey_. I didn't want to ask the Ministry to make me one since you were hell-bent in keeping your location a secret." explained Andy when the two parted.

"Don't mention it." Leo said, dismissing it with a wave. "How was the trip?"

"Tiring and dizzying, I think you already know that. I really don't like taking _international_ _portkeys_. Next time I leave the continent, I'll go muggle." admitted Andy with a grin. "So, who do you want to introduce me to? You mentioned during the phone call that you wanted me to meet with someone."

Leo didn't answer but someone certainly did.

"Hello, Andy."

Andromeda Tonks nee Black recognized the voice but it couldn't be him. She slowly turned around and almost fainted at the sight of her supposed-to-be-dead cousin giving her a warm smile.

"Sirius?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Everyone adjourned to the living room for the explanation. Canis explained to Andy what Leo did in bringing him out of the _Veil_ while Freya provided the medical explanation to give her the full picture.

While they were talking, Leo left for the kitchen to prepare a little lunch for everyone. Thankfully, the pack was busy with their work so he need not prepare large servings to accommodate their nearly bottomless stomach. He loved Embry dearly but he couldn't deny the fact that the teen could out-eat him anytime of the day.

When Leo called to them that lunch was ready, everyone adjourned to the dining room to take advantage of the small feast that Leo prepared for them. They had to leave Teddy in the living room since the lone Lupin was still sleeping like a bear in hibernation.

After lunch, Leo banished the empty plates to the kitchen and summoned tea before continuing their conversation.

"So, is there anything I need to do for my move here?" asked Andy as she took a sip of her tea. Thankfully, Leo had the foresight to acquire tea leaves from England since the American ones were pretty bitter.

"You need to go to Gringotts and finalize your and Teddy's citizenship. Are you planning to go double like me and Freya or single like Canis?" asked Leo. Andy adopted a thoughtful look before answering.

"Before I answer that, what do you plan to do with Teddy when he reaches the right age to go to school? Will you want him to go to Hogwarts?"

Leo nodded with a smile.

"Yes. I don't want him to miss out on his heritage since both sides of her family have been attending Hogwarts ever since. Besides, with the way the Ministry is going, we don't have to worry if Teddy inherited his father's traits." Leo paused for a bit, realizing what he just said. "Speaking of which, did Teddy inherit Remus' curse?"

Andy shook her head before sighing in relief.

"Not really. He was exposed to the full moon for 7 years now and so far, he didn't change into a werewolf. However, it seems that he has heightened senses, like those of a normal werewolf, not to mention their speed and strength. He is stronger than your average 7-year old." she explained.

"So I guess Teddy won't be turning werewolf on us anytime soon though I suspect that if ever becomes an animagus then he would be a wolf if the curse had anything to say about it. So I guess that he got all the advantages of being a werewolf except for transformation." mused Freya.

"Don't forget, Teddy is a metamorphomagus as well." Andy added, expecting a reaction to come from the three.

"WHAT?" all three shouted in shock. Andy just nodded serenely, inwardly amused at their reactions.

"He started displaying his powers a week after Leo visited. It started with his hair turning into different colors. Now, he could somewhat control the ability unless he is emotionally driven. He can also turn his eyes to different colors if he wanted to. Other than that, he didn't display any other control over his ability." she explained to the three shocked magical in front of her.

"Uhh…this might complicate things. We need to teach him how to control or he wouldn't be able to get out of the Den and have fun like normal kids do." stated Leo as he took a large sip of his tea and refilling it from the pot.

"That won't be a problem, Leo. We can explain it to him. Teddy is a smart boy." said Freya calmly, already prepping up the conversation in her mind.

"Besides, I think Andy and I can give Teddy some pointers. We did grow up familiar with that particular skill after all. Blacks are well known for being metamorphs and animagi." Canis declared confidently.

"I guess that's it then." Leo agreed. He would also help Teddy to control his powers. It might be a good idea to teach Teddy the basics of Body Magic since it would help with his control, Occlumency too if possible. "If you're alright with Teddy attending Hogwarts when he reaches 11 then we need to give him a dual-citizenship, same goes for you since you are his legal guardian. This would give you the freedom to go to Britain anytime without them holding you in the Ministry filling up paperwork in triplicate."

Andy agreed. It was always good to keep the option open just in case things hit the fan for one reason or another.

"So when are we going to Gringotts? Wait, is there a branch here?" asked Andy in confusion. Freya nodded.

"We have a Gringotts Brach in Merlin's Street in Seattle. It's like the American version of Diagon Alley but only more modern than in Britain. Once Teddy wakes up, we are going to take a little family outing and head over there. It might be a good idea to kit you out with a new wand to avoid being detected by the British Ministry since your wand signature is registered there. I hope that alright with you." Freya asked hesitantly, a bit worried of Andy's reaction to replacing her wand. For a witch or a wizard, a wand was a part of you.

Andy shook her head and giving Freya a smile saying that it was alright with her.

"I don't mind. I want to make sure that my new life here is without problems. I can get a new wand if it ensures our security. I don't want to Teddy to have any problems with his stay here."

Leo chuckled deeply causing everyone to look at him, confusion clearly etched on their faces.

"You don't have to worry about that. With the shifters around, not to mention us four to keep an eye on things, Teddy won't have to worry about any problem at all. Heck, any trouble looking for him would be stupid to show their ugly mugs considering the firepower we have at our disposal." Leo said with a cheeky grin. The rest couldn't help but agree at their de-facto leader's assessment.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Everyone left for Merlin's Street when Teddy woke up from his nap. The little guy was clearly amazed over his new home and the crew couldn't help but smile at his child-like innocence. It was an unspoken agreement with everyone that they would keep it that way as long as possible if they could help it.

After feeding Teddy a sandwich that Leo prepared for him beforehand, they asked Fawkes to take Teddy to the magical alley since he was too young to _apparate_. The avian and the half-werewolf immediately took to each other, one out of curiosity while the other was of paternal instinct.

Leo couldn't help but be amused at Fawkes impromptu adoption of his godson. Teddy couldn't ask for a better protector than his dear friend.

The first stop of the group was Gringotts where they met with Liverwhacker and signed the same document as the rest. Teddy was too young to sign so Andy took care of everything for him though he needed to come back in the future when he reaches legal age in order to finalize the documents himself but that was still far into the future so they didn't worry about it. Afterwards, a Trust Vault was created for Teddy and a Gringotts Card and bottomless wallet for Andy before leaving.

The group split to take care of their own needs. Andy and Freya went to the wand maker while Leo and Canis took Teddy for lunch since the little tyke was complaining that he was hungry.

After Teddy devoured all the food in his plate much to the amusement of his godfather, they met with Andy and Freya over at the clothe shop and bought muggle outfits for the newcomers. Leo informed her that magicals here in America prefer to go muggle instead of wearing old-fashioned wizarding robes like those popular in Britain. Andy couldn't deny the fact that it would allow them to blend perfectly with the locals and avoid discovery.

They left Merlin's Street around half-past four to check out a car for Andy to use since she already knew how to drive thanks to her husband who had one of his own due to his profession as a solicitor in the muggle world.

Considering the wealth they had at their disposal, Andy giddily chose to buy an Ashton Martin Vanquish much to the shock of the males and amusement from Freya. Teddy definitely approved of the car since he was already in the passenger yelling at everyone to drive him around.

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**End of Chapter 19**

**Please Review**


	20. Wolves Out of the Bag

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight**

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**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 20: Wolves Out of the Bag**

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**March 9, 2006**

**1:20PM**

Leo slammed the phone down in exasperation for the 15th time that day. He had been listening to Bella's whine as the girl kept asking about Jacob.

Billy was out for the day to attend a meeting with the rest of the elders and Andy since they wanted to induct her into the leadership position of the tribe due to her being the eldest of the English Blacks. As always, Leo offered his services to watch the garage, and by extension, his house, while the kids were tinkering away in the shop.

Billy didn't tell him that Bella would be calling by the half-hour. Leo was considering pranking the man for not telling him.

Leo had a sneaky suspicion that Billy just wanted to see and talk to Andy since he saw that the Native Black was quite smitten with her; or maybe he just wanted to get away from the desperate Swan girl and her incessant questions on where his son was.

Sure it was cute and all, in a stalkerish kind of way, but it was annoying especially to the person handling the calls.

"You know, she would stop calling if we just tell her the truth." said Jacob as he leaned his tall, muscled frame on the side of the door of the office where Leo was using for the day since his father was in an important council meeting. He was wearing his usual greasy work clothes which Leo magically changed the size to accommodate his growth spurt. He did the same with Embry's.

Leo looked at Jacob as if looking at a child. Jacob cringed at the look since he knew that he just invited another lecture from the wizard.

"And I'll keep telling you that there is no way we're going to tell Bella about the wolves. These rules were set in place by your ancestors for a reason, Jake. They are not to be trifled with." explained Leo for the 6th time that day.

Jake held up his hands in surrender, wanting to hold this off before things get too heated between the two of them.

"I know. But if you really think about it, she's already in the know. She already in the know about the existence of vampires and she technically knew about the wolves since she saw when we killed that vampire that almost did her in. All I'm saying is that we 'officially' tell her about us so she would just shut up about it." countered Jacob, mentally patting himself on the back for such a well thought out argument.

Leo gave him a long look, a stoic mask on his face, the words that followed made Jacob's blood run cold.

"You know, Jake, I couldn't help but feel you're biased about this." started Leo, not taking his cold eyes of the shifter who was sweating at the intense gaze he was subjected to. "I know for a fact that you want Bella to know is because you have this stupid crush on her."

"Hey, it's not stupid." Jacob defended his affection though he knew he was caught red-handed.

"No, Jake, it's not stupid. It's the truth and you know it. I assume that you want to tell Bella because of two reasons. One, you like her so much that you don't want to keep secrets from her; or two, you want to have a one up over Cullen."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Jacob said angrily, now leveling his own glare at the wizard who didn't budge an inch.

Leo was not fazed by the glare since he was subjected to far worst by Severus Snape and Voldemort. Jacob's didn't even make him bat an eyelash.

"I promised that I would protect my new home, Jacob Black, and I plan to do just that. The Quilleute is now my family and I will do anything…ANYTHING to make sure that the tribe is safe. This includes protecting the secrets from outsiders. If I have to, I will use all my power to wipe out Bella's memory of vampires and wolves. Even if she has this _protection_ from the Mind Arts, I will find a way to do that if you press me on this matter." Leo said coldly, his magic leaking and making an aura around him due to the intense anger and determination he was feeling.

Jacob was frightened. He knew that he made a step in the wrong direction and he had the mistake of angering such a powerful person.

"Fine." said Jacob in a defeated voice. "I won't tell Bella and I will abide by the rules of the tribe."

Leo saw the sincerity in Jacob's voice and controlled himself. He knew where the teen was coming from and he knew that love was a powerful force that could either lead to good decisions or bad ones.

He stood up from his chair and walked up to the shifter who cringed at his approach. Without warning, Leo hugged a surprised Jacob and whispered in his ear.

"I know how you feel, Jake. I know that you love Bella and wouldn't want to keep any secrets from her. But the rules are set for a reason. However, if Bella is your imprint, then by all means, tell her. Nothing is stopping you. But if she is not then she could be a risk to the tribe. There is no way we can bind her promise to keep it a secret and vampires have special abilities that could take the secret from her mind without her knowing about it." Leo explained to the shifter who he felt gave a nod of understanding. He pulled away and smiled at a sad Jake and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, Jake. Only time will tell. Just be careful, alright?"

Jacob nodded dejectedly and left the office back to the car he was servicing. Leo saw Embry giving him an amused expression.

"What?" Leo asked his mate with a confused tilt of his head.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that I have competition." Embry said jokingly before approaching his imprint and gave him a hug. Leo returned it happily, his mate's presence relaxing him.

"There's no competition, love. You're the only one for me." Leo declared before kissing Embry on the lips. Good thing he created a notice-me-not charm when he had his talk with Jacob since Quil was just a few meters away from them. Quil hasn't phased yet so it needed to be kept a secret a while longer.

"Good to hear." said Embry when they ended the kiss. "Jake's still pestering you about Bella huh?"

Leo shook his head in exasperation before going back to Billy's workstation and flopped down on the chair with a tired sigh. Embry followed him and sat at the edge of the table before facing his lover.

"You got that right." admitted the wizard which caused Embry to give him an amused grin. "I can't blame him. He's in love with Bella. I don't know if it is an imprint pull or what but it would be premature at this stage to tell her the secret. It would put everything in jeopardy."

Embry nodded. He knew the rules of the pack and he would abide by it.

"I know. But if Jacob wants to tell her then he needs to imprint with Bella if she is the one for him. Did Freya sense anything about that?" asked Embry since he was quite curious about his best friend's obsession with the Swan girl.

"Yes. Jacob's magic isn't reaching out to anyone at this point. If Bella was the one for him then the wolf spirit would be leaking magic to affect the bond. There is no evidence of that with Jacob." explained Leo as pulled out the ledger containing the garage's appointments.

"Sucks to be Jake then." said Embry with a frown. "Jake might love Bella right now but once the imprint sets in, there's nothing he could do about that. It's like Sam and Leah all over again."

Leo looked at his mate and nodded grimly.

"I know. That's why I'm easing Jacob into the concept of imprinting. He needs to know that he shouldn't fall into any commitment since he would just end up hurting those he courts. Besides, I'm not sure about Bella's intentions towards Jacob. From the looks of things, she is using Jake as a lifeline, not a paramour."

"Why do you say that?" asked Embry curiously.

"Let's face it, Bella has never shown any interest in Jacob ever since they met." said Leo with a frown on his face. "Billy told me that Jacob showed interest to Bella when they delivered that truck to her house. At the brief meeting, Bella looked at Jacob as a friend and nothing else though they had a history together which only revolves around friendship. Then all of a sudden, her boyfriend disappears and immediately looked at Jacob in a new light. If I get the facts right, I would say that Bella is using our Jake to plug up that hole in that heart of hers that Edward Cullen caused."

"You might be right about that. Jacob told us that Bella approached him with two broken bikes and asked him to fix it. Heck, the girl used her savings just to get the bikes running and the parts aren't cheap." said Embry, remembering the conversation he had with Jake regarding the bikes.

"Exactly, I'm not sure but I know there is an ulterior motive as why Bella asked for Jacob's assistance. I'll give her a benefit of a doubt at this point since we could never know unless she tells the truth if we confront her. But that is neither here or there. Jake just needs to be careful or he'll end up hurting himself if he's not careful. Bella attracts vampires like bees to honey." Leo revealed in a grim voice.

"Then I guess the only think we can do right now is to keep an eye on the situation and make sure that Jake doesn't end up on the wrong side of the stick." said Embry cheekily.

Leo was about to say something when the phone suddenly rang. He glared at the infernal machine since he already knew WHO was calling…again. Embry just kissed his lover on the cheek before exiting the office. But even he didn't have the patience to listen to his lover try to get rid of Bella on the phone.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was around 5:30PM when Billy came in to check on his substitute for the day. The council meeting ended well, inducting Andy into the group as an advisor so they wouldn't have to keep calling on Leo and Freya everyday to inquire about the shifter or any updates on that wonderful map of theirs. In most cases, Andy would act as liaison between the English Black and La Push.

Not only that, he enjoyed spending time with the new addition to the English Black household. Not only was she perfect in his eyes, she was intelligent enough to hold a decent conversation unlike other women these days. Andy was like an aristocratic version of Sue Clearwater.

Seeing the garage empty and assuming that the kids already left for their scheduled patrol, Billy entered his office to see Leo busy pouring over the ledger containing the appointments.

"How are things coming along?" asked Billy. Leo looked at him with a smile but eventually turned into a frown.

"Nothing new actually. The kids already finished the job scheduled for today so I already called up the customers and told them they could pick up their cars tomorrow after paying for the repairs and maintenance. I'm just sorting the schedule for tomorrow so I can paste them on the board for the trio so they will know what to do when they come in for work." Leo informed him before leveling him with a glare. "You could have warned me that Bella kept calling you about Jacob."

Billy visibly winced. He had to field all of Bella's calls and had to force himself to be polite. It took every ounce of control he had to avoid lashing out at the girl.

"Sorry about that. Bella's doesn't know when to quit." Billy said with an apologetic smile on his face. Leo just nodded and made a rueful face.

"I know. I had to talk a talk with Jacob earlier since he really wanted to tell Bella about the shifters since she already knew about the vampires."

Billy frowned. He didn't know about that.

"What did you say?" he asked the wizard seriously.

"No need to worry. I informed him of the importance of keeping it a secret and there's still Sam's order to not tell Bella about being wolves." Leo informed but a frown marred his features. "But I wouldn't put it past your son to find a way around that. He's very smitten with Bella."

Billy sighed before sitting down on the spare chair in the office.

"Tell me about it. Jacob's in love with Bella and even I can see that but I don't think Bella would be returning his feeling anytime soon." said Billy with a thoughtful frown on his face.

"I know." agreed Leo. It seems that Jacob's father also arrived at the same conclusion as him. "I stressed the possibility of him imprinting on Bella and I think he got the part that he might or might not imprint on her. I just hope he backs down quietly once he finds out that Bella's not the one for him."

"Thanks for telling him, Leo." said Billy with a thankful nod towards the lion animagus. "I don't think he would listen to me if I did end up telling him that."

"Don't worry about it." said Leo with a smile though he cringed when the phone rang…again. "Well, have a nice day Billy. Have fun talking to Bella."

With that, he _apparated_ out of the office with a loud crack leaving Billy to look at the ringing phone in fear.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Leo snickered when he appeared in a shadowed corner outside the _Wolf's Claw_, leaving Billy to his fate in dealing with a very desperate Bella Swan. He entered his pick-up and drove for home while thinking about his conversation with Jacob earlier.

Leo realized that there was an actual loophole to Sam's order. Jacob could not _directly_ tell Bella the truth but he could leave clues for the girl. In fact, that would be the most viable solution for the shifter since he knew that Bella was smart considering that she figured out the Cullen's secret on her own.

Grimly, Leo decided right there and then to place some of his _perimeter stones_ around the Swan residence. She was a trouble-magnet like he was so it's a good idea to monitor that house for potential threat. He might need to talk with Freya later to set up a time to enter the property with no one the wiser.

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**March 10, 2006**

**9:15AM**

Leo was having a quiet time in the Attic reading one of the potions books in Salazar's collection. The rest of the Den's occupants were out in their private beach enjoying a sunny day that was a rare commodity in this part of Washington State. Considering that he had been quite busy for a while now, everyone gave in to his wish to do some private study since Freya had been hogging the new additions to the library.

After checking out some of the books, Leo couldn't help but sigh. No wonder the wizards and witches he met kept saying that the time of the Founders was a wonder of magic. Skills and magical inventions long thought lost was not the result of lack of knowledge; no, it was the result of the creator hoarding their precious notes and books to hide them from the people coveting their secrets.

In Salazar's case, there were plenty of potions here that could practically save lives, both muggle and magical. Potions to cure prolonged exposure to the _Cruciatus Curse_ that resulted in muscle and nerve degradation, a more potent version of _Veritaserum_ that lasts longer, and more.

The only downside to these potions that Salazar created requires basilisk venom which Leo assumed was one of the reasons why he created one on the first place. Heck, there were even notes on _how_ to create a basilisk. People kept saying that it was a chicken egg kept warm and hatched by a toad. It was far from the truth. There were rituals involved in order to expedite the growth and initiate the change. It wasn't complicated but it would take years, or decades even, to create one healthy basilisk.

He didn't even think about making one for his own since it would be dangerous; besides, if he really did need basilisk venom to create the potion, he was sure that his contact in Gringotts would be more than able to acquire suitable amounts for him.

Leo was about to get started on one of the potions that didn't require venom when his phone rang. He checked the ID and found that it was Billy and pressed the button to accept the call.

"Leo here. What's up?"

"_Leo, I suggest you get your butt down here in the house pronto." _came Billy's urgent voice.

"What happened?" Leo said immediately, placing the book on the counter.

"_Bella just showed up here to check up on Jacob. Unfortunately, the pack was around so they immediately confronted her. She knows the secret and from the looks of it, things are about to get ugly." _

"I'm on my way." said Leo before ending the call and _apparated_ behind the shop.

When Leo got there, he saw that things were about to get rough. Jacob just ran out of the house and phased in mid-fly to confront Paul who was snarling in his wolf form in front of Bella. From the looks of it, the girl said something that angered the hot-head and Jacob came to the rescue. He definitely didn't want blood on the wolves this early in the game so he immediately went into action.

Running towards the snarling wolves, Leo immediately hit Bella with a _stunner_ that caused her to crumple to the ground, unconscious. When that was done, he saw the wolves about to leap at each other so he decided to fight brawns with brawns since the shifters had a natural defense against magic so spelling them to stop wouldn't work.

Leo jumped towards the attacking wolves and immediately shifted to Griever. Since he was flying in between the two wolves, he grabbed both of the wolves on their necks with his paws and slammed then on the ground in a daze.

"_Stop it you two!"_ growled Leo towards the shifters in their mental connection. Outside the conversation, the lion was growling at the two downed wolves.

"_He started it."_ came Jacob's voice.

"_You're leech-loving girlfriend started it, Black."_ countered Paul. _"She found out about us and I know that you had a hand in it."_

Leo sighed and pressed down on their necks harder causing both to yelp in pain. The wolves might be bigger than your average lion but Griever was no ordinary lion.

"_Phase back or I'm going to kick your assess so hard that the both of you would be shitting using your mouth instead of the holes in your butts." _Leo threatened the two with so much venom in his voice that they both agreed immediately.

He let go of the two shifters who phased back to their human forms. He followed afterwards and leveled both of them with a glare that would have fried them on the spot. Leo saw Sam coming from the corner of his eyes so he immediately rounded on him causing the alpha wolf to cringe back due to the glare being directed at him.

"You're supposed to be the alpha here, Sam Uley, so why in the world are you not stopping these two from clobbering each other." Sam was about to say something but Leo didn't want to hear any of it. "You know what? I don't want to hear it. I know Bella said something that caused Paul to snap but you could have easily controlled him with your alpha voice. Why you didn't do so, I don't want to know."

He then rounded on Jacob and Paul who cringed back the same way as their alpha did.

"Paul! Why in the world did you phase in front of Bella. If you don't control your temper I'm going to enroll you in Yoga class for a month!" shouted Leo at a fearful Paul.

For good measure, he hit him on the groin with a _stinging hex_ causing the shifter to yelp in pain and groaned. Mentally nodding at a lesson learned, he rounded on Jacob who knew what was coming.

"Don't deny it, Jacob Black, I know you have a hand in Bella knowing about our secret. I don't know how you went around Sam's order in not telling Bella but I don't care. You mess one more time, pup, and I'm going to neuter you so you would think with your head up there than the one down there." threatened Leo causing Jacob to gulp.

For good measure, he sent an overpowered _stinging hex_ at the teen's manhood which caused him to drop to the ground howling in pain.

He turned away from the sight of the two groaning teens towards Sam who gulped before putting his hands on his groin, hiding it from view. If the situation wasn't so serious, Leo would have found it amusing.

"I can't do anything with Bella since her mind is protected from any memory spells Freya and I could cook up. You take her to Emily and inform her completely of the wolves. There is nothing we can do about that now since the wolves are out of the bag. DON'T tell her about magic. If you do, I won't hit you with a _stinging hex_, I'll hit you with a _cutting curse_ instead and I won't miss."

Sam gulped and nodded.

"Are you sure this is the right choice?" asked Sam nervously. He knew that Leo wouldn't deliver that threat but he didn't want to chance it since they knew that the wizard had a temper on him that only Embry could get him out of it.

"Whether it's the right choice or not, there is nothing we can do. I suggest you tell her to keep everything a secret to protect the tribe. Since he kept the Cullen's secret then she would do the same for the pack. I'll handle Billy and the elders. I'll call a meeting later tonight for all of us to talk this out. We need to come up with a contingency plan to make sure that Swan here is included in our protection since she knows the secret." explained Leo with a grim look on his face followed by Sam since they knew that the situation could get worst at any time since an outsider just learned of the pack's secret. "Bella is stunned for the next hour. Take her to Emily's and explain everything when she wakes up. Call me if there are any complications and I will handle it."

With a nod to everyone and a _healing charm_ to the two groaning wolves, he left the Black's backyard and headed for the garage knowing that he needed to talk to Billy and set up a meeting with the rest of the elders back at the Den.

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**End of Chapter 20**

**Please Review.**


	21. Wolves on a Welcome Leash

**I apologize for the delay since it took a while for me to update this fic. My friend and I are working jointly for this story and she just gave me the draft of the plot two days ago. I had to work on it a bit and add some of my own plot into the story…and voila! Chapter 21!**

**Also, I would like to inform my readers that it may take a while for the next chapter to be put up if this was an indication. As I am actively working on my Harry Potter/Naruto story, I already gave the plot of chapter 22 to my friend and she would be working on it to add some of her bits into the story. She would then pass it on to me to finalize before posting it here in FF.**

**Expect a month for that to happen since she is as busy as I am. **

**Anyway, enjoy chapter 21!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight**

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**Harry Potter: A Life After Hogwarts**

**Chapter 21: Wolves on a Welcome Leash**

Ever since Bella found out about the wolves, it was decided among the elders that they would refrain from going to the Den to keep the English Blacks a secret. Besides, it was better for the pack to refrain from mentioning their presence due to Bella's rather inquisitive nature. They wouldn't put it past her to put two and two together to finally realize that there was _something_ different about the Den and its inhabitants.

Also, since it was impossible to tamper with Bella's memories at this point, it was better to play it safe and make sure she doesn't discover anything they wouldn't want her to.

This meant that she was barred from ever stepping foot inside the boundaries of the Den until further notice. Leo talked to Jacob about that, ordered and threatened the teen with a gender change if he so much as brings Bella into the compound.

Jacob vehemently agreed since he didn't want to become a girl anytime soon. He loved being a guy, thank you very much.

One interesting development that happened was Quil phasing for the first time. They were completely caught by surprise since it happened differently as compared to the rest of the pack's situation.

As it so happened, Quil Sr. was berating his grandson on something that the teen just went berserk. Thankfully, Sam was phased at that time so he was able to control Quil enough to avoid mauling his grandfather and scarring him for life. Afterwards, Quil was brought to the Den where the explanation immediately followed.

Unlike the other shifters, Quil was happy to become one, considering his ability to shift into a gigantic wolf to be 'cool' than a curse. He was considered as the joker of the pack who oftentimes liked to play rounds of wolf wrestling with Embry and Jacob, and by extension, Sam and Paul. Jared wisely stayed out of the whole thing since he was quite busy with his own imprint, Kim. Leo joined once and completely kicked everyone's butt but the wolves all banded together to kick his. It was a fun time for everyone though they needed to fix the grounds afterwards since it was totally destroyed.

They definitely had to fix it since Freya was practically growling at them when she saw the mess they made on her garden. They might be stronger than her but a Freya controlled by her rage was not something they wanted to see or feel firsthand.

Speaking of imprint, Kim, the shopaholic teenager, was Jared's. They were classmates and sat beside each other in class. In truth, it was quite funny since Jared never gave her any attention though Kim admitted that she had a crush on the young Quilleute. When Jared shifted, he immediately imprinted on the girl much to her happiness. Of course, she was brought into the pack secret due to her status.

Thankfully, the shifters and the elders decided to keep the magical world a secret except for a chosen few, like Emily for example since he was the Alpha's mate so she needed to be in the loop as the wolves' official 'mother hen'.

The pack was also expected to grow some more when Leah and Seth showed signs of shifting. It was quite a surprise considering that there were no records of a female shifter or one as young as Seth. They, however, took it all in stride and decided to just monitor the situation.

However, this occurrence worried them for a bit since new shifters would equally mean more vampires. Leo and Freya vowed to have a…talk with the Volturi to keep their charges on a much tighter leash or face extinction under the hands of two overprotective Battle Scholars.

On the Bella front, it was a surprise that she took everything calmly. The magical assumed that she was supernaturally inclined considering that she hangs out with a family of vampires that could easily tear her limb from limb. She didn't even bat an eyelash at the wolves. In a way, she was a supernatural herself due to her mind shields, a rarity in muggles and was often termed as psychics by the non-magical masses though in a passive form.

They didn't know how she would react to the existence of magic and they decided to keep her in the dark for their peace of mind.

Of course, Jacob was ecstatic and kept grinning like a loon when Bella got the hint and discovered the secret on her own. He no longer needed to hide and be with the 'love of his life' every day after that.

However, Freya burst his happy bubble when she informed him that he didn't imprint on Bella so it's better to control his…crush to avoid making a mess in the future.

As predicted, Jacob quieted after that and vowed that he would NEVER imprint. Leo and Freya just gave him a condescending look but kept quiet. They knew better that imprinting was uncontrollable and would only be triggered when you make eye contact with your perfect mate. Jacob's life mate was still out there not gracing them with his or her presence.

Besides, If Jacob imprints while being with Bella then it would be a Leah-Sam scene all over again.

One positive note from that event was Bella revealing more about the Cullen family to the wolves which they dutifully relayed to the English Blacks. The magical knew that vampires tend to have powers aside from their supernatural strength, speed, limited invulnerability (they were very immune to fire) and beauty. There was no way to determine what their abilities were unless they tell you themselves.

Thankfully, Bella was in the know so now the Quilleute family knew too. This in turn placed the English Blacks into the loop.

Edward Cullen was a mind reader; something similar to _Legilimency_ but targets more than one person at a time though the girl did reveal that Edward couldn't read her thoughts. This got Freya worried since Bella's boyfriend could literally read the wolves mind like an open book; this spurned the enchantress to come up with a method to block the mind-reader's talent which would be added to their accessories soon. The magical werent's worried because all of them had mind shields to protect their thoughts though they vowed to put up a protection for Teddy since the boy was too young to be taught _Occlumency_ at this point in time, not that they would be putting the young metamorph within range of _any_ vampires if they could help it.

The shifter were of a like mind since they considered Teddy as part of the pack thanks to the boy's wolfy nature.

Alice was a seer though her visions were subjective. She could only 'see' the future based on a person's decision. Leo surmised that this ability was more on prediction that any form of prophecy which was usually set in stone only if the parties concerned gave it power. The prophecy between him and Voldemort came to mind when that information came up.

Jasper was an empath, able to sense and manipulate the emotions of others. This didn't concern them much since the magical were protected from its influence. The wolves' rage could easily counter such influence if necessary.

Emmett had the strength of a newborn vampire so he was stronger than your average bloodsucker. Leo itched to try Griever out at the guy to see who was stronger before Embry smacked the notion out of him much to everyone's amusement.

Leo was clearly the strongest in the relationship but it was awe-inspiring on how Embry could control him easily thanks to their imprint-soul bond, not that Leo minded of course.

The other two females, Esme and Rosalie didn't have their own supernatural talents; though according to Bella, Esme retained and amplified her kindness; while Rosalie amplified her inherent beauty when she was still human. According to Bella, Rosalie had the looks that would make a supermodel drool with envy. Freya merely raised an eyebrow at that before looking down at her perfect figure.

Carlisle, the head of the Cullens, was said to be immune to human blood which was the reason why he worked in a hospital; which according to Freya was a weird occupation for a vampire that needed blood as a form of nourishment.

Among all these abilities that the Cullen family possessed, it was Edward's that made everyone worry though Freya promised to come up with something to counter that. That ended the worry since everyone knew that Freya was talented when it came to her craft.

With the situation with Bella under wraps, life in La Push settled down in normalcy, well except for Jacob who can't keep his mouth shut about Bella and the pack was starting to get annoyed at the bombardment of anything remotely Bella in their mind link to the point that Paul had to bite Jacob's rump just to make the boy realize that he was giving everyone a headache.

* * *

Embry was currently enjoying a relaxing day in the garage. There weren't any customers around but they needed to be on duty just in case someone comes along that needed their services. Only he and Jacob were in the shop since Quil was with Sam to teach the new shifter a few teamwork drills they employed on vampires. The young Atera was only a few days old and needed to be taught properly if he was to contribute his abilities to the Reservation's protection.

The imprinted teen was brought out of his reverie when he heard Jacob mumble about his non-imprint lover. Curious, he stood up from the bench and silently walked over to the teen who was fixing a broken bike, the one that Bella ruined during their test drive.

"Stupid Leo. Why can't he just mind his own business? It's not like he's part of the pack." grumbled Jacob to himself, unaware of Embry who was narrowing his eyes at him due to his statement. "He's just an outsider. Why in the world is he ordering the pack around?"

Anger flared inside Embry and his wolf was straining to lash out at the grumbling teen. Not wanting to wreck his lover's business, he slowly counted one to ten while slowing down his breathing to reign in his anger. It worked, but only just.

"You know, Jacob Black, for one who claimed to be smart, you sure are dumb." said Embry in a cold tone.

Jacob whipped his head around and saw his best friend standing a few feet away from him struggling to hold back his wolf. Jacob could see the anger in his best friend's eyes and it was directed at him.

"What are you talking about, Em?" asked Jacob, confused as to why his friend was angry.

"You spout your nonsense saying that Leo isn't part of the pack. Well, Jacob, he is part of the pack as we all are. He is part of the Reservation." whispered Embry in a cold voice though Jacob heard it quite clearly.

"You're just saying that because he's your imprint. Obviously, you're taking his side." Jacob fired back, also shaking in anger at being caught in his ramblings. Thankfully, he didn't shift to his wolf form considering that he was as volatile as Paul was when it came to their tempers.

"No, you're the one who doesn't understand, Jacob." said Embry in anger. "You just phased a few weeks ago and you're already saying that you know everything? Sure, you were told the secret and about magic but you don't know _everything_."

"Well, why don't you tell me, oh wise one." Jacob said sarcastically.

Embry proceeded to do just that. It was time to bring Jacob Black to heel before he causes more trouble for the pack.

"Before I shifted, Paul was attacked by a vampire; he was dying because he was bitten. I think you already know that it's a death sentence for us to be bitten by one."

Jacob paled at this since he knew the consequence to a wolf when bitten by a vampire. It was instant death. How in the world was Paul alive? Embry's next statement answered this question.

"He should have been dead but Leo and Freya came up with a potion that destroyed the venom. That was the time that they revealed their secret to the elders. After that, he healed your dad's spine so he could walk. He also healed old man Quil's limp. He helped La Push by putting up new businesses to jumpstart our economy. And most importantly, he and Freya put their heads together to make sure that the whole Reservation is protected. The map, the patrol, the accessories you are wearing right now…everything is because of them."

Jacob was shocked by the revelation. He didn't know these things. Sure, he knew that secret of the Quilleute legends and magic but he didn't know about the things Embry just revealed to him.

"You're selfish, Jacob." growled Embry, volume rising. "Because of your stupid infatuation of Bella Swan, you allowed our secret to be revealed to an outsider that has no connection to the pack except for being friends with them through Billy and you. You said that Leo is not part of the pack? Your dad and Leo are blood relatives, they share a common ancestor. Heck, he is even related to old man Quil and Harry. Even Sam through his father. Also, he is your many times cousin, Jake. And what did you contribute to the pack? Huh?"

Jacob was quiet as he processed everything but Embry wasn't finished, far from it.

"You let our secret be known to a person that loves a vampire, the sworn enemy of our ancestors, not to mention befriending a whole coven of them. For what? Because you love her? No, Jacob Black, you don't love her. You're _infatuated_ with her. She loves Edward Cullen and not you. When he left, she came to you; and you, in all your infinite wisdom, started seeing her in a new light because she showed you a modicum of interest. For what? So you could fill a hole in her heart that the vampire caused? She's not even your imprinted for crying out loud. What if you went into a relationship with her and you imprinted on someone else? Are you going to turn her into another Leah? Huh?"

Jacob's eyes turned mutinous at the thought of imprinting on another other than Bella.

"I will _never_ imprint. That will never happen." declared Jacob though he inwardly winced at the idea of his beloved Bella turning into a bitter harpy like Leah Clearwater. He couldn't deny the Leo gave a lot of the Reservation but he would try his best to deny the last part. He would never imprint if he had anything to say about it.

"What do you know, Jacob, that you are so you sure that you won't imprint?" questioned Embry, anger already subsiding to be replaced by cold indifference.

"I know I won't let it happen." Jacob said with determination in his voice.

Embry nodded at that statement, accepting it though he knew better. Nothing can stop the imprint bond. More so if that imprint bond was reciprocated by a magical soul bond like what happened to him and Leo, not that he minded of course since he already liked the man even before he shifted.

"Good. If you won't imprint then that is _your_ belief. However, there is a rule in the pack that our secrets would remain a secret and can only be told to an elder, a fellow wolf, or an imprint; though the elders amended that to include the English Blacks since they are now part of La Push's protection. Bella is not your imprint, so why did you let her in on the secret?" Embry stressed, wanting to get through to his best friend from destroying himself.

"Bella has the right to know the secret, Em." said Jacob. Embry could have sworn that there was pleading quality to it.

"She does? Well, why is it _her_ right to know then?" asked Embry. He didn't get any answer from Jacob. "I get it. You want to tell her because you love her. You love her enough to disobey the rules of your heritage. So what would you do Jacob if Bella tells the Cullens about us?"

"She won't." Jacob said adamantly. "The Cullen's won't be coming back."

"If that is the case, then that's good. But what's stopping her from telling them or from finding out through her?" asked Embry, pushing further to make his friend realize. Jacob was silent, avoiding Embry's gaze. "Just remember, Jacob. This isn't a game we're playing. We are the protectors of the Quilleute Tribe from vampires. If the Cullens ever come back, you mark my words, she will go back to them. And if that ever happens, where will you stand Jacob Black? Will you stand with Bella and the Cullens or will you stay with the pack?"

Embry didn't give him time to answer since he just turned around and left for the outside since he was not in the mood to face his best friend right now, leaving Jacob in the company of his thoughts as he pondered on his best friend's words.

* * *

**March 16, 2006**

Jacob Black was deep in his thoughts as he drove home in his Rabbit. He just left Bella's house after taking her home. When they got there, he immediately smelled the presence of vampires in the property. Considering that he was the one who was predisposed in handling vampires, he checked it out with Bella trailing after him. He was right; a vampire was there and was preparing himself to attack when Bella's reaction surprised and angered him at the same time.

The vampire in Bella's house turned out to be Alice Cullen who came back to check up on her. This surprised him a bit considering that the family just packed all their things and left, leaving Bella alone which resulted in her zombie-like state.

What irked him, however, was how Bella seemed to have forgotten all about it and was quite excited to see the vampire. It hurt a lot that the girl he loved chose the vampire over him, to the point that she defended the visiting Cullen when he was balefully staring at the intruder.

Of course, he let her chose between him and the vampire; which was a mistake on his part since Bella chose the vampire instead of him. This hurts a lot and was too much for the werewolf to take so he got out of the house. However, instead of leaving immediately, he stayed around and listened to their conversation.

From the sounds of it, Edward Cullen thought Bella to be dead since Alice, who seemed to have the power to see the future, reported to her family that the girl died after jumping off a cliff. He left immediately when the two decided to go to Italy to head off his wayward boyfriend from making a big mistake.

Embry's words haunted his thoughts as he drove. His best friend was right. No matter how much he tried, he would never have Bella's heart. Bella's world revolved around Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black was just a temporary fix to plug up the hole that her boyfriend left in her heart.

Sighing, he made a split-second decision to head over to the Den since he didn't want to go to his house with full view of the garage where he spent a lot of time having fun with Bella Swan.

A trip to the English Black's private beach might help him get over his depressing thoughts and alleviate the pain in his aching heart.

* * *

While Jacob was busy nursing his aching heart, Leo was relaxing in the Den's private beach, for once, not wanting to study after spending two days combing through Salazar's Journal nonstop. It's been weeks but he and Freya weren't even halfway to finishing the new addition to their library. He decided to take a day or two off from the damn thing just to relax. Since Embry wasn't around due to his training with the pack, he had to spend his impromptu R and R alone.

He was in the middle of weighing the pros and cons of taking a swim (Griever didn't like to get wet which transferred over to Leo as an animagus trait) when Freya's otter patronus broke through his musing to deliver a message.

"_Leo! Get your butt here to the Clearwaters immediately! Harry just suffered a heart attack when Leah and Seth phased during the commotion. Need Griever's help stat! I can't help Harry while trying to control Leah since she is taking the whole thing badly."_

Surprised at the alarm in his sister's voice, he immediately apparated back to his room at the Den, put some of his clothes on and apparated at the backyard of the Clearwater home. What he saw there was pure chaos.

Fenrir was currently facing off against a lithe gray wolf with a sandy brown wolf trying to pin the former down. Sue was out in the porch nursing an obviously unconscious Harry. Leo didn't wasn't any time shifting into Griever and released a loud roar that shocked the two new wolves out of their wits.

Considering that Leah and Seth didn't have the pack accessories that would enable him and Freya to communicate in their wolf forms, Griever decided to take the direct approach to contain the two, and from the looks of it, he would just have to settle his sights on Leah since Seth was busy standing in the defensive in front of a very confused looking Fenrir while giving him looks of apprehension.

Despite being a very small wolf, Leah was fast…very fast. Griever couldn't pin her down no matter how much he tried. The lion animagus played cat and mouse with the wolf for a few minutes before deciding to call for reinforcements.

"_Sam!"_ Leo hollered over the mental connection he shared with the wolves while Griever was trying to swat Leah who simply swerved out of the way with amazing agility.

"_Leo? What's wrong?"_ Sam's voice came through the link.

"_Get your furry butt down here at the Clearwaters now! Leah and Seth phased but Leah is running wild! I don't have a mental connection with her yet so I need your Alpha abilities to help her calm down before I decide to take some drastic actions."_

"_On it!"_ Sam hollered back and Leo could feel Sam shift into his wolf through their mental link.

Whatever Sam did must have worked since Leah stopped before she and Seth cocked their heads to the side as if listening to something from a distance. If the situation wasn't serious, he would have laughed himself silly from the comical sight in front of him.

It didn't take long for Sam, Jared, Paul, and Embry to enter the garden from the forest. The appearance of the four huge wolves scared the new shifters though Leah snarled at Sam, clearly knowing who was talking to her. Leo, through Griever's eyes, noticed Fenrir shift back into Freya before dashing over to Harry and started treating him.

Considering that the situation was handled, he shifted back to human form and eyed the new shifters, observing them.

Leah was obviously the gray wolf since it was her eyes clearly reflected in those brown orbs. Seth was the sandy wolf. Leah's wolf form was lithe and small, clearly built for speed instead of strength and her display at dancing around Griever's efforts to pin her down was an indication of that. He didn't see Seth fight but he knew that the teen needs to grow up a little to fill out since he was quite gangly. It was quite obvious that both shifted prematurely, not enough time for their unique magic to finish with the physical change.

He did, however, notice Seth eyeing Freya. He inwardly snickered knowing what just happened. The drama that would follow was not to be missed if he was to amass a bit of blackmail material that her sister had on him in spades.

What happened next caught everyone off guard.

Canis, who must have sensed that something was amiss from where he was, apparated into the scene. The crack of his apparation made Leah turn to him. Both locked eyes and Leo knew that the female shifter just imprinted on his dear godfather. Without warning, Leah turned from his communique with Sam and lunged at the startled Canis who immediately shifted into Padfoot before being barreled down by the she wolf. Leo noticed that both were the same size.

A bit of tussling and romping ensued before Padfoot was pinned down by the somewhat stronger she-wolf. He was then showered with a lot of licks that left the poor dog in shock.

The scene was so funny that Leo barked out a laugh followed shortly by Sam and the rest of the pack.

* * *

It didn't take long for the commotion to die down. Thanks to Sam, both Leah and Seth were able to gain control of their wolf side to shfit back to their human form, followed shortly by Canis who had a look of both wonder and bewilderment on his face.

Of course, Canis fainted on the spot when he saw Leah in her birthday suit (butt naked for everyone to see). It was too much for the old dog so he fainted on the spot with a goofy grin on his face. It was obvious to everyone that he definitely _liked_ what he saw.

The newly turned she wolf simply smirked with a smug look on her face as she eyed Canis downed form though Leo could see the loving undertone in them. His godfather finally found the love he deserved after years of suffering.

Of course, Sam was glaring at the unsconsious man with such intensity that it would have burned Canis to ashes if such a look merited that ability. Leah saw this and immediately protected her paramour. She glared right back, as intense as the ones Sam was giving the downed dog animagus.

Seth blushed and his entire body gave testament to that when he shifted back naked. He turned around to hide whatever dignity he had left from Freya who was giving the boy's backside a speculative look. Leo knew that his sister got an eyeful of Seth's bits and the look Freya was giving the boy promised a lot of…looking in the future.

After conjuring a set of clothes for Leah and Seth and instructing them to cover their modesty, everyone entered the Clearwater home and used the kitchen as an impromptu meeting place. Leo had to levitate Canis from where he was lying much to the bug-eyed looks of the new shifters since it was first time to see magic in action.

After depositing Canis in a spare sofa in the living room, Leo turned to Freya who was fretting over an unconscious Harry.

"How is he, sis?" asked Leo in concern.

"He is going to be alright. Good thing you came just in time to take care of Leah so I was able to reverse the effects of the stroke." Freya informed him as he propped Harry's head up and fed him a couple of his capsules, rubbing the man's throat to help him swallow.

"What happened anyway?" asked Leo, wanting to know what happened before explaning magic to the new addition. Sam was currently explaining the entirety of the Quilleute Legends to Leah and Seth in th kitchen.

"I don't know to be honest. I was in the kitchen with Sue preparing lunch when a fight broke out in the living room. From the sound of it, Leah was having a shouting match with Harry over Sam while Seth was hollering in the background trying to get the two to calm down. After that, I felt the two shift into their wolf forms and I managed to bludgeon the two of them into the backyard before sending you a patronus. When Harry saw his children shift, he suffered a stroke. You saw what happened after that." Freya dutifully informed his brother.

"I see," Leo said with a nod. He knew from their research of the Spirit Wolves that rage and anger was a catalyst to the change. When Freya reported the increasing amount of magic in Seth and Leah's body, they surmised that they had a month to prepare before the actual change would take place. Leah and Seth's bout of anger changed that and now they had to find out if those two were alright since they shifted prematurely before their bodies could properly adapt. "Any idea what the repercussion would be to the two since they changed prematurely?"

"I don't know." Freya said with a shrug. "Once the hubbub dies down, I want to bring them into the Den and run a thorough scan on them just to be sure. I'm sure nothing bad would come out of it since their inner magic would take care of any problems given time."

"That's good." Leo said with a sigh of relief before his faced turned mischievous. "From the looks of things out there, Seth was quite…smitten with you and you were staring at the boy. It didn't escape my notice how he defended you from me when I shifted to Griever and I also noticed you liked what you saw."

"Oh shut up you." Freya said with a blush on her cheeks. She definitely saw what Seth has to offer. Considering the boy's…equipment, there would be a lot of fun for her in the future. "He imprinted on me when I looked at him while I was Fenrir and my magic immediately established a soul bond. Besides, from Leah's reaction to seeing your godfather, the same thing happened to them."

"Amazing." Leo breathed out. "Two new shifters and two new imprints. The Clearwaters really knew how to get the balls rolling. Poor Padfoot. I'm sure he was shocked when he was practically given a bath by a she-wolf."

Freya giggled at that when she remembered what happened to the older wizard.

"Yep. I'm so going to use this as blackmail material. I don't have one for him yet." Freya declared with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Leo raised an eyebrow at this.

"So you mean to tell me you have blackmail material from everyone?"

"Of course, brother mine. A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do." she purred causing Leo to look at her in fear.

"Why do I get this feeling that you're going to be using these blackmail of yours to make our lives a living hell." Leo pointed out with a bit of apprenhension.

The innocent look on Freya's face spoke volumes of how correct he was in his assessment.

* * *

**End of chapter 21.**

**Please leave a comment or a review.**


	22. A New Treaty

**Here's Chapter 22. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 22: A New Treaty**

* * *

**March 17, 2006**

Leo was enjoying the rare afternoon sun out in the garden of the Den, reading a book while keeping watch on Teddy as the little tyke was playing around with Fawkes, a complicated game that involved a lot of chirping from the bird and a lot of fake growling from the boy, punctuated by a few kid howls now and then.

He had to raise an eyebrow at the two regarding their…unique form of communication but shrugged it off as a kid thing that he didn't know about.

He was relatively alone since Freya was busy tinkering away in the Attic trying to come up with an additional enchantment for the wolves so mind reading capabilities like the ones Edward possessed couldn't penetrate the pack mind.

Andy was, again, with Billy Black after the Patriarch of the Native Blacks invited the woman over to his house to 'discuss' the running of the Reservation though Leo had a sneaky suspicion that the old coot was wooing his surrogate aunt, not that he minded of course. Besides, Andy was receptive to Billy's advances and reciprocated in kind.

As usual, Embry was with the rest of the wolf pack teaching Leah and Seth the ropes with Canis tagging along to keep an eye on the love of his life. He had to snicker a lot when he remembered Sam giving Canis a sour look when Leah practically tackled his godfather when he woke up from his fainting spell and kissing him again into unconsciousness.

Seth, on the other hand, had to be dragged away since he didn't want to leave the Den. Everyone knew that he imprinted on Freya though with the girl busy with her work, it was best to get the boy out of her way to avoid accidents since they knew that magic was volatile if left unchecked or disturbed.

The truth was, Freya was trying to get some semblance of control over her hormones since her…observation of Seth's naked form yesterday sparked something in her that she wasn't prepared for. Until she got her body under control, she would be staying away from Seth to avoid molesting the young pup. She wasn't a pedophile, thank you very much.

Leo turned a page when he was startled by a loud explosion coming from the attic. He was about to apparate over there when the window opened causing a lot of the smoke to exit before Freya's face appeared, covered in soot.

"Brother Dearest, are you still using those spare Mithril in your work cabinet?" Freya asked sweetly. She was speaking in a normal voice but a Sonorous charm ensured that the words would reach him. Leo wandlessly and non-verbally applied his own Sonorous before replying.

"No, sis." said Leo as he looked up at her. The Mithril she was talking about were leftovers from the creation of the wolves' accessories. Gold was immune to any magical tampering so he had to embed a few bits of Mithril into its creation to anchor the enchantments properly. "You can use them if you like."

"Good." Freya said, a bit relieved making Leo quirk an eyebrow at her. "I accidentally destroyed the cabinet when one of my experimental charms backfired. Since you're not using it…"

Leo didn't get to say anything since she went back inside, closing the window behind her. The lion animagus sighed before going back to his book, shaking his head all the while. He wasn't able to continue reading since Jacob's rabbit entered the driveway to park though the teen went directly to the beach with a depressed and forlorn look on his face.

Curious, Leo laid down his book to follow the clearly distraught teenager but not before telling Fawkes to watch over Teddy for a bit. After getting an affirmative trill from the bird, he followed the teen to the beach, intent to find out what happened.

After the debacle at the Clearwaters, Leo and Freya had to find out from Billy that Bella had an accident in one of the favorite cliff haunts in La Push. Jacob was supposed to take her cliff diving but the girl had other plans. She jumped with no supervision which she almost drowned from.

Sure, cliff diving was a favorite sport among the Quilleutes, especially among the shifters, which he sometimes partook with Embry and the rest of the pack. However, it was stupid of the girl to do it without someone to look out for her and to do so during a monsoon where the waves were stronger than normal.

Thankfully, she got out of it with only a mild hypothermia as a result of her…adventure since Jacob immediately bailed her out from the cold water.

When he got to the beach, he saw Jacob sitting down in one of the many driftwoods-turned-chairs so he approached the boy and sat down beside the teen, surprising the shifter. Now there was definitely something wrong since shifters, by nature, were an alert bunch. If Jacob didn't notice him then something was definitely wrong.

"Oh hi, Leo. I didn't see you there." Jacob said with some surprise though Leo could hear a bit of guilt in his tone.

"What's up, Jake? You look like someone stole your Rabbit?" Leo joked, trying to alleviate some of the boy's depression. Whatever hit the boy's heart, it hit pretty damn deep for a happy-go-lucky Jacob Black to become an angst-ridden teenager.

"Nah. Something just happened that's all." was the teen's sad reply.

"Oh?" Leo asked, urging the teen to continue. Jacob sighed.

"You and Embry were right. I love Bella but something happened today that made it glaringly obvious that she doesn't love me that the same way I do her."

Leo looked at the boy curiously. When Jacob didn't explain he decided to push.

"What happened, Jacob Black? Explain now or I'll drag the information out off you." growled Leo. Lions were cats and cats were very curious.

Jacob did just that. As he explained everything that happened during and after his meeting with the Cullen at Bella's house, Leo was blowing a gasket.

"SHE DID WHAT?" Leo shouted while rising from his seat. "HOW COULD THAT GIRL BE SO STUPID?"

"Why say that?" asked Jacob, alarmed at the reaction he got from the wizard. "I mean, Bella is safe with the Cullen right?"

"Yes, she is safe with the Cullen but where she is going right now is tantamount to suicide!" Leo growled out before standing up and trudged back towards the Den. He sent a mental communiqué to Fawkes to keep an eye out on the boy since they were going to have a meeting.

"They're just going to Italy to stop her boyfriend from doing something stupid. What's wrong with that?" Jacob asked when he caught up to the clearly angry wizard.

"What's wrong with that, Jacob, is not what she is doing but WHERE she is going." Leo growled as he neared the entrance of the Den. "She is going to Italy. Meaning, she is going to a place where the vampire royalties are holed up. If that stupid boyfriend of hers is doing what I think he is doing, he is trying to off himself because he thought that the love of his life is dead. She is walking into enemy territory. With the number of vampires there, even with the Cullens, she'll never make it out alive!"

"What?" Jacob asked in shock. He didn't know what Leo was talking about.

"Explain later. We are going to have a meeting. Everyone is going to attend." said Leo in anger before sending out a message to the entire wolf pack through their mental link while texting Billy to gather the Elders to come to the Den. When that was done, he sent _Prongs_ to the attic for his sister.

* * *

The Elders, the entire wolf pack, Canis, Andy, Freya, and Leo were at the attic, seating in a conjured long table with Leo at the head.

"What's this meeting all about, Leo?" asked Freya curiously. She was able to clean herself up with a few spells so she was quite presentable. It was a good idea too since Seth kept staring at her much to her inner delight.

"This meeting is all about Bella. She did something so stupid that it would take a miracle for her to survive." Leo growled out causing everyone to tense. Sure, Leo had a temper on him but it was seldom out. If it was, then something was definitely wrong.

"What did she do now?" asked Billy with a sigh. The girl was more trouble than she's worth. If it wasn't for Charlie being his best friend, he would have banned the girl from the Reservation.

Leo told them exactly what Jacob told him down at the beach. The elders and shfiters were frowning but the English Blacks were tense and angry.

"Why does it look like you're trying to bite someone's head off?" asked Jared as he looked at Freya's furious face.

"Bella did the most stupid thing she could ever done in her life. If she is going to Italy so save Edward then it is obvious that she is going to Volterra."

"What or where is Volterra?" asked Paul curiously.

"Volterra is a tourist attraction in Italy, a medium-sized city comparable to Forks but mostly with archaic buildings from the Renaissance. Now, that is not what's making Freya angry. The reason why is because Volterra is more than a tourist trap. It is the known location of the Volturi." Andy informed the teen, her lips in a thin line, a clear sign that she was angry.

"Who are the Volturi?" asked Sam with a frown on his face. It was Leo who answered that question.

"If the magical have a Ministry of Magic to supervise the workings of the Magical World, the vampires have one of their own. The Volturi is the self-proclaimed royalty of the vampire world and they are known to control the vampires all over the world, making sure that none of them expose themselves to the public. If Bella is going there then she will be coming face to face with the strongest vampire coven in the world!" Leo informed the Alpha who was shocked at the information before eyes glowing in anger.

"How could she have been so stupid?" Freya ranted; her magic was lashing out causing the room to shudder from the force of her anger.

"So what are we going to do now?" asked Paul before his face turned into glee. "Are we going there to bring down the vampires?"

He was whacked on the head by Freya who was glaring at him.

"Are you stupid? With the pack as they are, you are no match for the entire Volturi, more so if they bring out the Volturi Guards who are rumored to possess supernatural powers of their own. You might be a match for them in terms of strength and speed but when it comes to their added abilities, all of you are defenseless. The shifters would be slaughtered if you even step foot in that place." Freya growled out causing Paul to flinch.

"So what are we going to do now? It is quite obvious that we need to save Bella somehow." Sue asked worriedly.

Everyone was sharing ideas on how to save Bella and bring her back home. Leo and Freya were of a mind to make a portkey, enter the Volturi, grab Bella and hightail it out of there. The shifters were adamant to accompany the two, more so with Seth and Embry who didn't want to leave their respective imprints to go off on a mission that would put their lives in danger. The discussion degenerated into a shouting match between imprints before they were quieted down by a loud bang coming from Canis' wand.

"If all of you would just shut up for a minute, you would realize that doing nothing would be the best option to take." Canis said calmly, causing everyone to give him looks of disbelief.

"Explain, Canis." asked Andy, not believing that his cousin was leaving Bella to her fate.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but is the vampire accompanying her goes by the name of Alice Cullen?" Canis asked rhetorically.

"Yes, so?" replied Jacob with an annoyed twitch on his eyebrow.

"Is Alice the one with the ability to see the future?"

"Yes she is. What are you trying to say?" asked Billy with a frown.

"Simple. Considering how close Alice and Bella was, I don't think the vampire would be putting her at risk. After all, they did leave Forks to keep her safe. If she is dragging Bella to Italy then would it be reasonable to think that she 'saw' something with that talent of hers? If she isn't having problems taking Bella to Italy then it only stands to reason that nothing bad would happen."

"Don't you think that you're putting a lot of faith in a vampire's ability, Canis?" asked Sue. She was there since Harry was sleeping the effects of the stroke at home.

"Yes, I am." said Canis seriously. "I am a Black and the Blacks are well-known in the magical world. The English Blacks were immersed in the Dark Arts and we have studied various magical fields and magical creatures being one of them. Vampire abilities are absolute. They either have it or they don't. If they do then their abilities are wired to work at its fullest. That is why Edward's ability reads ALL minds in an area and Jasper's emphatic abilities picks up ALL emotions around him. Alice's ability should be the same. If she 'saw' the outcome of her and Bella's decision to go to Voltera then it would be safe to say that she knows what would happen."

"He is right, you know." said Andy with surprising calmness. "Before I was kicked out of the family, the elder Blacks would give us lessons on different forms of magic before we were carted off to Hogwarts to take our magical education. Canis is right on that score. Vampire abilities work in absolute. It's an all or nothing scenario. Besides, there will be repercussions of Leo and Freya going to the Volturi. Sure, they can take care of themselves and even level the entire Volturi down between the two of them but if that happens then the consequence would be dire."

"Explain, Andy. You're not making any sense." Billy remarked, eyeing the woman.

"Alright, let's do a 'what if' scenario. If Leo and Freya went to Voltera and manage to save Bella, what do you think would happen?" Not getting answer, she continued. "The Volturi would be coming here to finish the job if they do intend to off Bella. Keep in mind that the Volturi is the largest vampire coven in the world, their number clearly in the hundreds. Unless you have the entire magical conclave behind you, La Push and the surrounding area would not be able to stand to such an onslaught."

That sobered everyone up but Andy wasn't finished with her grim revelation.

"Another scenario is Leo and Freya doing damage to the Volturi during their rescue of Bella. If they do manage to off the Volturi elders then it is quite possible that they would retaliate en masse. Another scenario to that are vampires trying to off Leo and Freya since that would be a testament to their power to take over what's left of the Volturi royalty. As you can see, going there would be a disaster."

"So you're saying that it is best to leave things alone?" Sam asked, angry. Andy gave him a level look.

"Tell me, Sam. Is your conscience ready to bear the burden of the entire Reservation, and possibly Forks and Seattle, from the repercussion of going to war with the Volturi?" Andy asked bluntly, not bother to sugar coat her words. "Thousands of lives at stake for the price of one?"

That froze the Alpha before grudgingly shaking his head in negative. No matter how right it was to save Bella, it was not a good idea to save one person at the expense of a thousand.

"So we just do nothing?" asked Freya.

"I didn't say we do nothing, dear." said Andy. "All I'm saying that we can't do things directly. Going to Voltera is fine but you have to be covert. If you and Leo are really adamant in going after Bella then I suggest that you go invisible. Observe the situation. If things get out of hand then intervene. If not then leave without a fuss."

"You know, that is a very good idea." Leo said as he mulled it over his head. "Freya and I can easily hide ourselves, making sure that the vampires wouldn't see, feel, or smell a hide or hair of us as we check on Bella. If things go bonkers over there then I'll just grab Bella and portkey out of there."

"You're right." said Freya, agreeing with the plan. "If we stick to Andy's idea then they won't even know our involvement, leaving La Push safe from potential retaliation."

"I hate to say it but both of you are right." said Billy. "This means that Leo and Freya would have to go alone."

"WHAT!" Embry and Seth shouted in unison followed by "THEY ARE NOT GOING ALONE! WE ARE COMING ALONG!"

"He's right, Em. Freya and I need to do this." Leo told his mate who was giving him a mutinous look.

"I am not leaving you alone out there, Leo, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind." Embry said with a glare. Leo maintained the glare before sighing. He could never win against his mate.

"Fine. I'll be taking you with me but you will be using my Invisibility Cloak all the time. Clear?" Leo told him; this time, he was the one doing the glaring. Embry wasn't fazed and simply gave a happy nod since he got what he wanted.

"What about me?" asked Seth. Freya rounded on the boy.

"You're going to stay here, young man." Freya growled out.

"But…" Seth managed out get out before Freya continued.

"You're still new to being a shifter, Seth. Considering your instincts are wired against vampires, you don't have that much control of your wolf to keep your composure around them. We don't want the mission compromised when you suddenly phase in the middle of a castle full of rabid vampires. You're going to stay here and continue your lessons with Sam and the rest of the pack. Is that clear?"

Seth sighed. Despite how he wanted to accompany his imprint, the imprint bond made sure that he would be following her orders to the letter. He didn't like it one bit especially if it was her safety on the line.

"Fine. But we are going to have a talk when you get back." Seth demanded with a mischievous grin. If Freya was going to get her way then it was only fair to get something in return. "Deal?"

"Are you demanding things from me?" asked Freya with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Take it or leave it." Seth said adamantly. Those who were watching the two imprinted couple had to hide a chuckle from forming. It was like a husband and wife arguing.

"Fine. We are going to have a talk when we get back." Freya said with a sigh. _"Damn it! I haven't controlled my hormones yet."_

Seth must have sensed what she was thinking because he blushed a bit though he had a smug grin on his face considering that he won this round.

"So, when are we leaving?" Embry asked Leo who was deep in thought.

Leo mulled it over for a bit before giving his mate an answer.

"Tomorrow. Tonight, Freya and I will prepare. Tomorrow, we will go to Voltera and get Bella out of there if necessary." He answered before a grim look crossed his face that made all the shifters who saw it nervous. "If they fight back then it's time for the vampire community that the Battle Scholars are not to be messed with."

* * *

"So, how's training coming along?" Canis asked Leah. The meeting just ended and every single person in attendance was busy doing their own thing. Thankfully, Leah planned to go to the beach so he tagged along to spend some time with his favorite shifter.

Leah shrugged. "Not so bad though Seth need to bulk up a bit if he really wants to make an impression. He is just so lanky." She answered with a smirk before a frown crossed her face. "Sam, on the other hand, is starting to piss me off."

"Oh?" Canis asked casually though he was inwardly cursing anyone that was an Uley, well, except for Embry of course since the teen was too sweet for his own good. "What did that idiot do this time?"

"He is acting like an overbearing mother. Really, he knows what it means to imprint so he doesn't have a right to tell me to take it slow. Not only am I an adult, my imprint is my business and no one else." Leah declared with determination making Canis inwardly crow in delight.

"Well, we can always prank him I suppose." Canis suggested with a mischievous glint in his eyes causing Leah to have the same. "I ordered a few wizarding pranks a few days back and they just arrived today. I'm sure Sam would just love to volunteer to test these new items out. What do you think, dear?"

"I knew there is a reason why I imprinted on you, Canis." Leah said with a smirk.

"Why? You mean to tell me that you didn't find a reason before?" asked Canis, a bit miffed at the implication.

"Oh no," she purred as her hands snaked down to Canis' back and pinched one of his cheeks causing the animagus to yelp in surprise. "There are a lot of reasons why I imprinted on you, being a prankster is one of them. Oh which reminds me, I think its fine time that we do something about this imprinting thing between the two of us."

"What do you have in mind?" Canis said in a mild tone though his animal side was cheering that his wizard was about to get laid. From the looks Leah was sporting, there was definitely a BIG possibility of getting laid.

"This." said Leah before slamming her lips onto Canis' in a vicious kiss, both of them growling as their animal sides were brought to the fore and their passion and lust took over. It didn't take long for their clothes to fly everywhere as their lust took hold of their bodies.

Yep, it was definitely a good night for old Padfoot.

* * *

Andromeda and the rest of the elders were in the dining room, discussing the potential repercussions of Bella's actions towards La Push. Of course, it was Billy who brought it up so they had an impromptu session between the Quilleute Elders. Since she was the liaison between the Native and English Blacks, she was part of the group.

"What do you want to talk to us about, Billy?" asked Andromeda before taking a sip of her tea.

"A new treaty?" Billy said gruffly causing everyone to look at him in surprise.

"A new treaty? Between the Quilleute and the Cullens? Why?" asked Harry with a bit of incredulity in his voice.

"Call it a hunch but I have a feeling that once all of this is over, the Cullens will be coming back. Such is the case; it is a good idea to set a new treaty in place." Billy replied causing Harry to nod.

"Aside from the traditional treaty our grandfathers had with them, what do you have in mind?" asked Sue with a bit of worry in her voice.

"I think I know where Billy is going with this." Quil Sr. butted in. "You want to make sure that the Cullens stay away from Bella, don't you?"

Billy nodded. "Yes, considering that it was their fault to begin with, I think it is a good idea to stop things before it could get worst."

Andromeda heard this and immediately decided to put a stop to their insane plan. "That's a bad idea there, Billy."

"Why is it a bad idea? The Cullens not associating with Bella is a good thing in my book." Billy said in exasperation. Quil Sr., Harry, and Sue nodded their heads in agreement.

Andromeda sighed. It was the perfect time to educate the Quilleute of the real natures of vampires. "Alright, Billy, I think the best way to explain this to you is to tell you a bit about vampires."

"We know everything about vampires." Quil Sr. quipped before shrinking back into his seat when Andromeda leveled him a glare due to being interrupted.

"No you don't." Andy replied with a bit of annoyance in her voice. "What you do know about vampires is what your ancestors was able to gleam about them after every confrontation. The wizarding world, especially the Black Family, amassed a treasure trove of information on these beings so I know all about them."

"Why don't you tell us dear and explain it to us why it is a bad idea to make a new treaty banning the Cullens from associating with Bella." said Sue, setting up the conversation for Andromeda to take over and letting the guys shut up for a change.

"Thanks, Sue. Anyway, vampires are well-known in the wizarding world. They are considered as class 5 magical creatures, class 5 meaning that they are dangerous and must not be aggravated unless they started it first. In most cases, vampires leave the magical community alone unless they are desperate or plain stupid. In terms of physical description, vampires are humans though their bodies are dead, they are very much alive." Seeing the confused looks, she decided to explain. "In magical studies, it is impossible for a human body to live without a soul. Vampires are just that, dead yet alive because they have a soul."

"Interesting. I didn't know they have souls. For me, they are plain dead." Quil Sr. said with a grin before quailing again when the lone Black female shot him another glare.

"Yes, they are dead but they are alive because their souls refuse to leave the bodies they were born with. To continue, vampires are strong, ten to fifty times as strong as they were when they were alive and their speed is increased the same way. Their bodies are indestructible unless faced with something of equal strength and durability. Due to being classified as an undead, they are quite weak against fire; even a small fire will burn a major part of their body if exposed. Contrary to popular beliefs, they don't die from sunlight or a stake to the heart, the latter because their skin is so hard that it almost impossible for a human to drive wooden implement into their chests. Also, vampires are known to create a form of venom that kills and turns any living humans into vampires. The venom is deadly to werewolves, their mortal enemy and counterpart, as well as to shifters."

"Now, the reason why I said it is a bad idea to ban Cullen from seeing Bella is because of the imprinting process that is unique to vampires."

"WHAT!" shouted Harry, Billy, Quil Sr., and Sue. This was definitely something new in their book.

"You heard me, shifters and werewolves aren't the only magical beings blessed with the ability to find their soul mates. Vampires can also find their mates but this is rare. In most cases, a vampire's mate is their singer, a human with blood that is intoxicating to them that there is a small chance that they would live before being turned. That is why not many know this since they end up killing their mates, bleeding them dry, before they could be turned. From Edward's reaction, it would be safe to say that Bella is his singer, meaning, Bella is his mate. If you ban a vampire from his mate then he would go to extreme lengths to get to her. This means going through anyone or anything protecting her. And a vampire is very protective of their mates…meaning, they will fight viciously to get them back."

"I think I know where you're getting at. If we do ban the Cullens from seeing Bella then it is quite possible that Edward would go to extreme lengths to get her back. If something happens to him then the rest of the Cullens would be drawn in. This would lead to a fight that we don't want to happen." Sue pointed out making Andromeda nod.

"Definitely. So if you're planning to make a treaty then I suggest that you make it so that the Cullens are FORBIDDEN to drink Bella's blood, and not turning her into a vampire. If they do turn her then the kid's gloves are off." Andromeda said grimly, the elders also sporting similar looks on their faces.

* * *

"So this thing will make me invisible?" asked Embry a bit skeptically as he studied the invisibility cloak on Leo's table in the attic. He couldn't deny the fact that it was beautiful but it was a bit hard to believe that such a simple, yet beautiful thing could provide a form of stealth. Besides, he wasn't that familiar with magic that he knew all of its workings so skepticism was normal in his part.

"It is. That has been a family heirloom since it was given to Ignotus Peverell by Death." Leo answered absentmindedly as he pulled out a few books on vampires he had in his collection. If they were going to face the Volturi then it was a good idea to be prepared.

Embry gave his imprint an incredulous look. "Whoah! You mean to tell me that Death is real?" he exclaimed.

"Uh yeah, I think." mused Leo before giving Embry a grin. "Well, Death IS real according to my ancestor when he wrote it down in his journal. Considering the no wizard was able to make an invisibility cloak that lasted more than 400 years then yes, Death is definitely real since only someone of Death's power could make an invisibility cloak as potent as that one. Don't doubt the cloak, love. That cloak practically saved me a lot of times when I was still in Hogwarts."

"Fine fine. Oh well, might as well give it a try." said Embry before putting on his cloak. He didn't feel any different but when he faced the mirror. "Whoah! My body's gone!"

"Cover your head, love, then you'll be really invisible." Leo suggested with a warm smile towards his mate.

Embry gave him a child-like grin before adjusting the cloak to cover his head. It was safe to say that he disappeared entirely. Leo was grinned but yelped when he felt something touch his groin.

"EMBRY!" screamed Leo when the touch became a squeeze.

"What?" Embry said when his head appeared out of nowhere from somewhere to his left.

"What was that?" Leo half-asked half-accused his shifter mate.

"What was what, dear?" Embry said innocently though his eyes were sparkling in amusement…and lust?

"You…touch…ugh…." Leo said in defeat. He was quite annoyed since that simple touch and squeeze practically made his little lion go into attention. Damn his hormones and magical soul bonds. He didn't get to say anything else too since Embry tackled him to the floor and locked their lips together.

For now, any thoughts of preparing himself for the Volturi disappeared from Leo's mind. The only thing he could think of right now was to please his mate that made his inner animal growl in agreement.

* * *

End of Chapter 22.

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	23. Important Announcement POLL UP

**Greetings, my beloved readers and followers;**

**First of all, I would like to thank everyone for your patronage of my fanstories, your many reviews and comments have helped in their development, and granted me a boon in learning and improving in the process.**

**The reason I am putting up this announcement is the lack of time I currently have to devote to my stories. Work and some issues raised its ugly head and demands quite a lot of my time, taking quite a chunk of my writing and brainstorming sessions.**

**This is why I decided to put up a poll to give you, my readers and followers, a chance to pick stories that you want me to work on. This doesn't mean that I won't be working with the rest, only that updates would be pretty slow due to the lack of time I have at my disposal.**

**Anyway, the poll is up and please pick three stories you want me to focus my attention on. The poll will be up for 2 weeks before I will post an announcement as to what stories will be updated.**

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**Cheers everyone.**

**Corruptmonk**


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